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Publicity Chronology

Publicity Chronology

These details were pulled together from reading and writing whilst progressing through the PhD to give context for the time that posters were produced. It was abadoned as a part of the thesis, but I intend to add further dates in the future.

1935
October 14th Committee for Imperial Defence meet. Sub-committee formed to plan for establishment of the MOI.
Robinson/Leeper & Reith produced papers.
1936
December Sir Stephen Tallents appointed D.G. Designate of MOI
1937
November Preparatory work for publicity division of MOI – expected to be easy to form at short notice.
December BIPO & Mass-Observation formed
1938
July Planning of the Home Publicity Division commenced.
September Government Information Bureau formed => forerunner to MOI.
MOI mobilised for 2 days over Munich
December Late Tallents produced 6 stage plan for CID Committee to avoid unpreparedness of Munich. Felt to be unacceptable so resigned
1939
September 4th Lord Macmillian – MOI (formed)
9th RAF leaflet ‘bombing’ raid on Germany
19th Sir EWM Grigg – Parliamentary Secretary, MOI
October 20th War Office recommends soldiers read Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto
30th ‘The Lion Has Wings’ 1st shown
November 22nd National Savings Scheme – ‘Lend to Defend the Right to be Free’
26th Chamberlain’s first broadcast
1940
January 5th Sir JCW Reith – MOI
30th Waste Collection Campaign
February 6th Fougasse’s Careless Talk posters
March Home Intelligence Division formed
April 3rd No Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information
6th Leaflet raids on Germany suspended
May 12th Duff Cooper – MOI (with Cabinet status)
17th Harold Nicolson – Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information
August Frank Pick dismissed as D.G. of MOI, replaced by Monckton with Radcliffe as DDG.
December Campbell Stuart resigns from MOI – what was deemed suitable for WW1, was not for WW2
1941
March 9th Bevin appealed for 100,000 women to work in factories – not to wait for instructions
April 14th Churchill instructs MOI to stop publishing demoralising weekly figures for shipping losses
June Wartime Social Survey: Regional panels of correspondents recruited.
July 20th Brendan Bracken – MOI
21st Ernest Thurtle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information
September 17th British to eat more potatoes -‘Potato Pete’
1942
November No longer regular summary of morale/public opinion to War Cabinet
December Extensive VD Campaign begun
1944
July Home Intelligence reports considered superfluous
1946
April MOI becomes Central Office of Information

By Second World War Posters

Mass Communications Academic, @MMUBS. British Home Front Propaganda posters as researched for a PhD completed 2004. In 1997, unwittingly wrote the first history of the Keep Calm and Carry On poster, which she now follows with interest.

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