The Faster You Build 'Em The Sooner We'll Be Home
A photograph of British gunners beside an anti-tank gun, with an Italian ship burning behind them, sits under a column of ticked North African place names. The closing line, 'Shall brave men die because you faltered?', puts soldiers' lives on the viewer's work (fear-appeal), and the checklist shows only the advances (card-stacking).
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Department of Munitions and Supply for Canada
- Region
- North America
- Country
- Canada
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Mackenzie King Government
- Leader
- William Lyon Mackenzie King
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Department of Munitions and Supply for Canada, 1939-1945. U.S. National Archives, Record Group 44.
Text on the object
THE FASTER YOU BUILD 'EM THE SOONER WE'LL BE HOME ✓ EL ALAMEIN ✓ EL DABA ✓ MATRUH ✓ SIDI BARANI ✓ BARDIA ✓ TOBRUK ✓ DERNA ✓ BENGAZI ✓ SOLUK ✓ AGEDABIA ✓ EL AGHEILA ✓ EN NADILIA ✓ SIRTE ✓ MISURATA ✓ HOMS ✓ TRIPOLI One of our guns goes into action while Italian ship burns after being bombed by the British on their push westward. How soon do we get those GUNS? SHALL BRAVE MEN DIE BECAUSE YOU FALTERED? This message is issued by the Department of Munitions and Supply for Canada
