Come Then Let Us to the Task, to the Battle & the Toil
A ruled and nautical-ornamented border frames red and black type: a quotation from the Prime Minister listing tasks for everyone ('Fill the Armies, Rule the Air, Pour out the Munitions...') and the line 'There is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to be lost.' The tell for testimonial is the named office-holder as the warrant, and for identity-fusion the 'each to our part' and 'all parts of the Empire' framing that makes the listener one of a single team.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Fosh & Cross Ltd., printer (Gp. 959); quotation attributed to Winston Churchill, Prime Minister
- 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
- 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; 1941 British print, hosted by owner decision
Fosh & Cross Ltd., printer; text by Winston Churchill. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-141.
Text on the object
COME THEN LET US TO THE TASK TO THE BATTLE & THE TOIL Each to Our Part Each to Our Station, Fill the Armies, Rule the Air, Pour out the Munitions, Strangle the U-boats, Sweep the Mines, Plough the Land, Build the Ships, Guard the Streets, Succour the Wounded, Uplift the Downcast & Honour the Brave. Let us go forward together in all parts of the Empire, in all parts of this Island. There is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to be lost. Mr. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister. [imprint:] (F29) 9097-6,250. Gp. 959. 4/41. Printed in England by Fosh & Cross Ltd.
