Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Scrap Metal Helps to Make Tanks, 1939 UK poster: A large tank is placed over a red panel of household scrap

Scrap Metal Helps to Make Tanks

A large tank is placed over a red panel of household scrap: a broken pan, spade, fork, tin and nails. The tell for transfer is the adjacency, which lets the weight of the tank stand for the value of a discarded kitchen item, and the bottom line, 'You must play your part', assigns the duty directly to the viewer.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Transfer
Date
1939
Period
Second World War
Made by
His Majesty's Stationery Office (printed by W. R. Royle & Son Ltd)
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
Regime
Churchill wartime government
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)
His Majesty's Stationery Office, UK; printed by W. R. Royle & Son Ltd. National Archives and Records Administration, WWII Foreign Posters (44-PF-550).

Text on the object

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

Scrap metal helps to make tanks

TINS, OLD KEYS, DISCARDED COOKING UTENSILS, EVEN
OLD NAILS AND SCREWS, EVERY SCRAP OF METAL IS NEEDED

YOU MUST PLAY YOUR PART
EVERY SCRAP IS NEEDED NOW

PRINTED FOR H.M STATIONERY OFFICE BY W. R. ROYLE & SON LTD 51-3319

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