To Naval Ship Workers
A typed letter on Department of Munitions and Supply letterhead, addressed 'Dear Fellow Workers', asks naval shipyard workers and their sub-contractors to speed up deliveries, citing the Minister, C. D. Howe, as having given naval shipbuilding the highest priority. The tells are the named official's authority invoked as backing and the 'fellow workers' address that casts management and workforce as one side.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1940
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Shipbuilding Branch, Department of Munitions and Supply (Ottawa, Canada); signed by Desmond A. Clarke, Director General
- 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
- Home front, Labor, Economy and finance
- 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, expired; issued by the Department of Munitions and Supply)
Shipbuilding Branch, Department of Munitions and Supply for Canada. US National Archives (NARA ID 44267869, 44-PF-707).
Text on the object
TO NAVAL SHIP WORKERS DEPARTMENT OF MUNITIONS AND SUPPLY OTTAWA, CANADA WHEN REPLYING REFER TO FILE..... To the Naval Ship Workers Dear Fellow Workers:- This is no time for wishful thinking. This is a war of speed - and without command of the seas, victories on land can neither be gained nor maintained. The Royal Canadian Navy must have more fighting ships and that is why I am appealing to you to step up your production. The Honourable C.D. Howe, Minister of Munitions and Supply, has definitely ruled that naval shipbuilding enjoys the highest priority and this applies to you, your sub-contractors and your suppliers of materials. Therefore, there is no reason for your not delivering on time. This appeal puts it directly up to you and through you to your prime contractors, to your sub-contractors and to your suppliers of raw materials, because all along the line you have the highest priority rating and with such rating there is no reason for your not carrying out your program. In other words, we want deliveries, not excuses. Victory hinges now on "The Battle of the Shipyards" - and this means you, the engine shops, boiler shops and every component manufacturer producing materials for fighting ships. No one knows better than I what you have already accomplished, but we must do more. Anything less than your best is not enough. Yours sincerely, [signature] Desmond A. Clarke Director General, Shipbuilding Branch.
