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Great Britain is a country located off the coast of mainland Europe. 

HistoryEdit

Britain declared war on Germany on September 3rd 1939 in response to the German invasion of Poland. British forces tried to defend France but failed which lead to the Battle of Dunkirk and later the Dunkirk evacuation. Germany then prepared Operation Sea Lion which was the name of the proposed invasion of Great Britain. Stage 1 of Operation Sea Lion involved using the Luftwaffe to cripple the Royal Air Force and gain air supremacy over the south - east of England which became known as The Battle of Britain in preperation for the invasion but Britain was able to defend itself. Despite the number of aircraft, the Royal Air Force prevailed and repelled the German attack. This was one of Hitler's first major defeats and was a turning point in the war.

PropagandaEdit

In the spring of 1939, during the build - up to war with Germany. The British government commissioned a series

of propaganda posters. These posters were inteded to offer the public reassurance in the dark days that lay ahead. They were required to be uniform in style and were to feature a special and handsome typeface making them difficult for the enemy to counterfit. They used the crown of King George VI as the only graphic device and just two colours.

Of the three final designs that went into production the first poster carried the slogan' " Your courage, Your cheerfulness, Your resolution, Will bring us victory." The second poster had the words "Freedom is in peril, defend it with all your might"' but the third design of which over two and a half million copies were printed simply read "Keep calm and carry on."

The first two designs were distributed in September 1939 and appeared up and down the country in shop windows and railway platforms. But the keep calm posters were held in reserve, intended for use only in times of crisis or invasion. In the end the poster was never officialy issued and remained unseen by the public for over 50 years.

See alsoEdit

• British Aircraft
• British Vehicles
• British Ships
• British Weapons