Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
The Battle for Fuel - Switch off Lights, 1939 UK poster: A black pointing hand labelled 'Switch off lights' points

The Battle for Fuel - Switch off Lights

A black pointing hand labelled 'Switch off lights' points at a chandelier, two of its three bulbs crossed out in black, under the headline 'The Battle for Fuel'. The war word 'battle' transfers military urgency to household lighting, and the small print gives a claim: if all halved their lighting, thousands of tons of coal would be saved daily.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
H.M. Stationery Office (issuing ministry not named); printed by Multi Machine Plates Ltd, London
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, Economy and finance
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)
Printed by Multi Machine Plates Ltd for HMSO, c. 1939-1945. U.S. National Archives (NAID 44267159, 44-PF-429).

Text on the object

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

THE BATTLE FOR FUEL

Switch
off
lights

IF WE ALL HALVED OUR LIGHTING, THOUSANDS OF TONS OF
COAL WOULD BE SAVED FOR WAR PRODUCTION EVERY DAY

PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY MULTI MACHINE PLATES LTD. LONDON E.C.4. 51-2708

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