You Can Help to Build Me a Ship
A photographed sailor in an 'H.M.S.' cap points straight at the viewer above the words 'YOU can help to build me a ship', with 'YOU' in red. The sailor's uniform lends the navy's standing to a shipyard job offer (transfer), and 'Working to win' is a virtue slogan with no detail (glittering generalities); the practical offer is the Employment Exchange line.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Ministry of Labour and National Service (H.M. Stationery Office); printed by J. Weiner Ltd., London W.C.1
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Themes
- Labor, War and the military
- 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 Labour and National Service / H.M. Stationery Office, 1939-1945. U.S. National Archives (NAID 44267443).
Text on the object
YOU can help to build me a ship YOU CAN LEARN QUICKLY AND YOU WILL BE WORKING TO WIN ASK AT ANY EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE FOR ADVICE AND FULL DETAILS. A JOB IS WAITING FOR YOU L.G.1. ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND NATIONAL SERVICE PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY J. WEINER LTD., LONDON, W.C.1. 51-8858
