Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Bones Help to Fire the Guns - Put Out More Bones and Save More Ships, 1939 UK poster: Two artillery shells sit beside a red

Bones Help to Fire the Guns - Put Out More Bones and Save More Ships

Two artillery shells sit beside a red panel showing bones, under the line 'Bones help to fire the guns' and a claim that 50,000 tons of bones are wasted each year. The tell for transfer is the pairing of kitchen scrap with the shells so that the weapon's purpose attaches to the act of saving bones; the request is a household salvage one.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
UK government (imprint: printed for H.M. Stationery Office by W. R. Royle & Son 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, 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)
UK government (HMSO); printer W. R. Royle & Son Ltd. Via U.S. National Archives, RG 44.

Text on the object

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

Bones help to fire the guns

EXPLOSIVES CAN BE MADE FROM BONES. WE HAVE TO IMPORT
THESE BECAUSE 50,000 TONS ARE WASTED EVERY YEAR

PUT OUT MORE BONES
AND SAVE MORE SHIPS

PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY W. R. ROYLE & SON LTD., LONDON, E.C.4. 51-3519

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Fragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouchesNew Kingdom EgyptFragments of the Abydos king list from Ramesses II's temple, in the British Museum: rows of royal cartouches0000 · Card stacking, TransferClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three templesNeo Babylonian EmpireClay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples0000 · TransferSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-BahriNew Kingdom EgyptSeated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri0000 · Transfer, TestimonialGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)Neo Babylonian EmpireGlazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)0000 · TransferLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at HerakleopolisNew Kingdom EgyptLimestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis0000 · TransferLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of EgyptNew Kingdom EgyptLine drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt0000 · Card stacking, TransferContent noteGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCEAchaemenid EmpireEgyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE0000 · Transfer