Your King & Country Need You
Lawson WoodAn original, vintage, British First World War poster, Your King & Country Need You, 1914. Designed by the noted artist and illustrator Clarence Lawson Wood for the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, the image depicts a veteran of earlier military campaigns shaking hands with a departing British soldier at a busy railway station. The design, subtitled A Chip Of The Old Block, was intended to stress the lineage between the ‘Great War’ (as the First World War was then known) and the nineteenth century wars of the British Empire. The implied message is that Britain’s historic triumphs are now under threat and everyman must do his bit by enlisting in the armed forces. A higher resolution image is available for viewing on request.