We Need More Coal to Build Ships
A stylised blue-and-black warship in a blue circle beside the text 'We need more coal to build ships. If 10 million homes used only 1 lb. less of it during today, 4,500 tons would be saved for shipbuilding - TODAY!'. The tell is the single multiplied figure: 10 million households times one pound is given as the ship-building gain, with no stated share of total coal use and no denominator.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Printed by Fosh & Cross Ltd (Wt. 26164, Gp. 961); issuing ministry not named on the sheet
- 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, Economy and finance
- 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 Crown copyright, published 1939-1945, 50 years expired)
Fosh & Cross Ltd (printer), National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-515.
Text on the object
We need more coal to build ships. If 10 million homes used only 1 lb. less of it dur- ing today, 4,500 tons would be saved for shipbuilding-TODAY! [imprint:] (FJ200). Wt. 26164. 1600. 9/42 Gp. 961. FOSH & CROSS LTD.
