Did I Switch Off? Everyone Should Back Up the Fuel Watcher
A worried cartoon workman in overalls holding a spanner asks 'Did I switch off?', and a banner asks everyone to back up the official Fuel Watcher and watch for waste of power, light, heat or steam. The ordinary-man figure makes the duty personal, and the closing slogan 'Save fuel for battle!' attaches the chore to the fighting.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ministry of Fuel and Power; printed for HMSO by Fosh & Cross 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, Labor
- 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
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
Ministry of Fuel and Power; Fosh & Cross Ltd. for HMSO, c. 1942-1945. U.S. National Archives, RG 44.
Text on the object
DID I SWITCH OFF? EVERYONE SHOULD BACK UP THE FUEL WATCHER Help your official Fuel Watcher by keeping an open eye for any waste of POWER · LIGHT · HEAT or STEAM! SAVE FUEL FOR BATTLE! ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF FUEL AND POWER PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY FOSH & CROSS LTD., LONDON. 51-4966
