The Worker Who Left the Lights On! Don't Be Fuel-ish
A cartoon by H. M. Bateman shows three scowling women in factory overalls pointing at lit ceiling lamps while a small, stooped colleague cowers. The group disapproval of one 'worker' is the bandwagon tell, set among ordinary factory hands, and the pun 'Fuel-ish' ties wasted electricity to weapons for victory.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ministry of Fuel and Power; artist H. M. Bateman; printed for H.M. Stationery Office by J. Weiner 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
- 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
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
Ministry of Fuel and Power; artist H. M. Bateman; printed for HMSO by J. Weiner Ltd. NARA, World War II Foreign Posters (44-PF-151b).
Text on the object
THE WORKER WHO LEFT THE LIGHTS ON! DON'T BE FUEL-ISH WASTED ELECTRICITY MEANS LESS FUEL TO MAKE THE WEAPONS WE NEED FOR VICTORY H.M. BATEMAN Printed for H.M. Stationery Office by J. Weiner Ltd., London, W.C.1. 51-3174 ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF FUEL & POWER
