NAM.1977-06-81-5

Recruiting poster, ‘Remember Belgium. Enlist To-day’, 1914. Chromolithograph, poster No 19 published by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, December 1914. One of a collection of 49 posters relating to World War One (1914-1918). At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the British Army was a small professional force of 270,000, and its soldiers were stationed throughout the British Empire. In contrast, the German Army, based on universal military training, had over 1 million men. Lord Kitchener was appointed Secretary of State for War on 5 August 1914, and immediately began an enormous recruiting drive. This recruiting poster features a contemplative British infantryman standing in front of Belgian refugees and a burning village, and was intended to inspire enlistment through a sense of duty.

World War One, Home Front (1914-1918) , World War One, Western Front (1914-1918)