Fence or guard all openings
A black ladder rises toward a bright open hatch in a dark expanse, with the line 'Fence or guard all openings'. The fear appeal is implied rather than shown: the empty void around the ladder suggests a fall, and no injury is depicted.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ministry of Labour and National Service with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents; artist Pat Keely; printed by Loxley Bros. Ltd
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Labor, Home front
- 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 Labour and National Service / RoSPA; artist Pat Keely. NARA, World War II Foreign Posters, 44-PF-169.
Text on the object
FENCE OR GUARD ALL OPENINGS Issued by the Ministry of Labour and National Service and produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Terminal House, 52, Grosvenor Gardens, London, S.W.1. ML/42 Printed by LOXLEY BROS. LTD. [signature in the artwork:] Pat Keely
