Please Stand on the Right of the Escalator
A cartoon shows a long single file of commuters on an escalator, all standing on the right, with one figure wearing a learner 'L' plate on his coat. The tell is the everyday cartoon crowd as the model for behaviour, with the request resting on shared commuter norms rather than a stated argument. It is a courtesy notice from the Underground, not a combat message.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- London Transport (Underground roundel); artist Cyril Kenneth Bird (Fougasse); printed 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
- Theme
- 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
- Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision (UK sheet, c. 1939-1945; Fougasse, d. 1965)
London Transport; artist Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird); printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-341.
Text on the object
Fougasse PLEASE STAND ON THE RIGHT OF THE ESCALATOR [imprint:] FOSH & CROSS, LTD., LONDON
