Whilst looking up material for the item of a few days ago about the first Anzac Day, I became sidetracked into looking at World War 1 recruitment posters. Being diverted is a common feature of using the internet. Before you know it, an hour has elapsed in looking at more and more divergent items.
Wartime recruiting posters tend to be of two types: those that seek to instil guilt feelings at not being “over there” and those that inspire rage against a monstrous and barbaric enemy, sometimes both together. Subtlety is not a prevailing characteristic. The posters were plain, blunt and with a short, clear message: Enlist Now! The posters were intended to not only send a message to those who were capable of enlisting but also to the population at large, thereby putting indirect pressure on those who had not enlisted.
The posters of WW1 tended to vilify the enemy more than those of WW2. Not infrequently Europe (or America) was depicted as a semiclad maiden violated at the hands of a brutish enemy. American posters appear to be the most blunt, an example above.
