British Cruisers Steaming into Action in the Mediterranean
A photograph shows three British cruisers at sea, with a caption citing the Battles of the River Plate and Cape Matapan as 'brilliant naval actions' in which enemy ships 'were soundly beaten'. The tell for card-stacking is the selection of victories and routine duties alone, with no losses or denominators.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- British government wartime poster series 'For Freedom' (issuing department and printer not stated; series mark and sheet code 'E.A.6.' only)
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- 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
- Held by NARA, Unrestricted; no rights statement on the sheet; hosted by owner decision
British wartime poster series 'For Freedom' (issuer not stated). National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-172g.
Text on the object
E.A.6. [logo: Union Jack] FOR FREEDOM BRITISH CRUISERS STEAMING INTO ACTION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THIS TYPE OF BRITISH WARSHIP has a world-wide task, ranging from brilliant naval actions, such as the Battles of the River Plate and Cape Matapan, where the enemy ships were soundly beaten, to the hard daily duty of tracking down enemy surface raiders in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and escorting important convoys.
