Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Leaders of the Royal Air Force, 1941 UK poster: Seventeen portrait photographs of RAF commanders in gold frames, each

Leaders of the Royal Air Force

Seventeen portrait photographs of RAF commanders in gold frames, each with name, honours and command, surround a central portrait of the Chief of the Air Staff beneath the RAF crest and the motto 'Per ardua ad astra'. The tell is the crest, crown and uniforms framing the portraits, which lend the service's institutional prestige to the named officers (transfer).

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
Royal Air Force (portrait sheet; issuer not stated, reference 'ACP 16-8-1941')
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
Military
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Mixed
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
War and the military
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Source
Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure
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; hosted by owner decision
Issuer not stated. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-265.

Text on the object

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

LEADERS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PER ARDUA AD ASTRA
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR CHARLES PORTAL, K.C.B., D.S.O., M.C. CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR WILFRID FREEMAN VICE-CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF
AIR VICE-MARSHAL N. H. BOTTOMLEY DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF
AIR MARSHAL SIR SHOLTO DOUGLAS FIGHTER COMMAND
AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR PHILIP JOUBERT de la FERTE COASTAL COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL SIR ARTHUR BARRATT ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL SIR LESLIE GOSSAGE BALLOON COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL SIR RICHARD PEIRSE BOMBER COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL J. S. T. BRADLEY MAINTENANCE COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL A. W. TEDDER ROYAL AIR FORCE, MIDDLE EAST
AIR VICE-MARSHAL C. W. H. PULFORD ROYAL AIR FORCE, FAR EAST
AIR MARSHAL SIR WILLIAM WELSH FLYING TRAINING COMMAND
AIR MARSHAL P. BABINGTON AIR MEMBER FOR PERSONNEL
AIR MARSHAL SIR CHRISTOPHER COURTNEY AIR MEMBER FOR SUPPLY AND ORGANISATION
AIR MARSHAL A. G. R. GARROD AIR MEMBER FOR TRAINING
AIR MARSHAL J. T. BABINGTON TECHNICAL TRAINING COMMAND
ACP 16-8-1941
(Rank, honours and command lines abbreviated to names and commands; small print read from image.)

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