---
title: T-O--W-H-O-? To You
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-t-o-w-h-o-to-you-tilling-1939/
description: A yellow owl on a branch before a full moon under the title 'T-O--W-H-O-? To You', with a four-line verse telling the reader to wait and listen until
section: Collection
---

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3. T-O--W-H-O-? To You

[![T-O--W-H-O-? To You, 1939 UK poster: A yellow owl on a branch before a full moon under the title 'T-O--W-H-O-? To You'](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-t-o-w-h-o-to-you-tilling-1939.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-t-o-w-h-o-to-you-tilling-1939.jpg)

# T-O--W-H-O-? To You

A yellow owl on a branch before a full moon under the title 'T-O--W-H-O-? To You', with a four-line verse telling the reader to wait and listen until the road is clear. This is a road-safety rhyme with no argument beyond the instruction; the closest fit is transfer, since the tell is the owl's night sight used as the model for careful crossing.

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)

## Text on the object

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

```
T-O--W-H-O-?
TO YOU

The owl by nature sees at night
But you have not this second sight
So wait and listen, stand and peer
Until you're sure the road is clear

ISSUED BY THE THOMAS TILLING GROUP OF COMPANIES, ENGLAND
```

[← Switch Off That Light! Less Light - More Planes](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-switch-off-that-light-less-light-more-planes-1939/) [Take the Road to Victory! Join the WAAF →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-take-the-road-to-victory-join-the-waaf-1939/)

## 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 cartouches](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/abydos-king-list-ramesses-ii-temple-british-museum/) (New Kingdom Egypt · 0000 · Card stacking, Transfer)
- [Clay cylinder with the Ehulhul inscription of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, describing work on three temples](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/cylinder-nabonidus-ehulhul-inscription-555bce/) (Neo Babylonian Empire · 0000 · Transfer)
- [Seated limestone statue of Hatshepsut as king, with feminine royal titles on the throne, reassembled from fragments broken up at Deir el-Bahri](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/hatshepsut-seated-statue-limestone-met-1458bce/) (New Kingdom Egypt · 0000 · Transfer, Testimonial)
- [Glazed-brick panel with a striding lion, from Babylon (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/ishtar-gate-panel-striding-lion-nebuchadnezzar-ii-604bce/) (Neo Babylonian Empire · 0000 · Transfer)
- [Limestone relief block of Ramesses II wearing the White Crown, a jubilee relief from his temple at Herakleopolis](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/jubilee-relief-ramesses-ii-herakleopolis-met-05-4-256/) (New Kingdom Egypt · 0000 · Transfer)
- [Line drawing of the Great Kadesh battle relief on the walls of the Ramesseum, from Breasted's History of Egypt](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/kadesh-relief-ramesseum-breasted-drawing-1275bce/) (New Kingdom Egypt · 0000 · Card stacking, Transfer). Content note: A drawing of an Egyptian royal battle relief showing Hittite soldiers and horses killed and drowned, as the king's monument presented the battle; it is a one-sided image made by the winning side's own account.
- [Gypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/nimrud-slab-ashurnasirpal-ii-inscription-883bce/) (Neo Assyrian Empire · 0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Egyptian alabaster jar inscribed with the name of Xerxes the Great in four languages (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Egyptian), 486 to 466 BCE](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/xerxes-jar-four-languages-486bce/) (Achaemenid Empire · 0000 · Transfer)