Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
A Pound Lent is Worth Two Spent! Stick to National Savings Certificates, 1939 UK poster: A cartoon soldier in battledress

A Pound Lent is Worth Two Spent! Stick to National Savings Certificates

A cartoon soldier in battledress, a winged imp whispering in his ear, looks at two women in white dresses. The imp's speech bubble reads 'a pound lent is worth two spent', and a red panel adds 'Lend to defend the right to be free', pairing the savings appeal with a virtue phrase (glittering generalities).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Glittering generalities
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
National Savings Committee (National Savings Certificates; crown emblem); artist Edgar Longman
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Own forces
Purpose
Fundraise
Themes
Economy and finance, War and the military
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
National Savings Committee, UK; artist Edgar Longman, c. 1939-1945. U.S. National Archives, NAID 44266134 (44-PF-58).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

a pound lent
is worth two spent!

LEND
TO DEFEND
THE RIGHT
TO BE
FREE

Stick to
NATIONAL SAVINGS CERTIFICATES

3512/PMEAX/1
[signature:] EDGAR LONGMAN

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