Second World War Propaganda in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Collection
We’ve recently been working through a few sets of propaganda flyers and leaflets kept as souvenirs by King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry soldiers during the Second World War. Propaganda produced by powers on all sides of the conflict was aimed at civilians and soldiers. These leaflets tell us about the thoughts, concerns, and fears of the everyone they were aimed at, and of the country printing them in the first place.
Propaganda and disinformation have been parts of warfare for centuries. The UK government had created a Ministry of Information during the First World War. Recreated during the Second World War, it largely focussed on drumming up support amongst the public at home. However, it also produced leaflets and posters for foreign use. Many were air-dropped on German towns and military bases to demoralise or to create false narratives about the war. Every major country taking part in the war had similar schemes, and many soldiers would keep propaganda that they found in the street as souvenirs.
King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regimental Museum, Heritage Doncaster
One of our favourites is this leaflet air-dropped on French soldiers before the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. Produced by the German government, it encourages French soldiers to surrender, declaring that the war was already lost, that German prisoners of war were treated well, and that the French had been tricked into fighting the war for the English. This example was collected by Percy Tissington, a driver in the 5th Battalion KOYLI and later the 53rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. In this early stage in the war, some people did consider a German victory a real possibility, so it’s no surprise that their propaganda tried to drive this point across. Another thing you might notice is that the leaflet is entirely text. Whether this was intended or a consequence of being produced quickly and cheaply, we don’t know. It contrasts massively with the propaganda directed at British soldiers in Italy later in the war, however.
Propaganda leaflets belonging to William Marsh, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum, Heritage Doncaster
These were collected by William Marsh, who was a private in the 1st Battalion when they arrived in Italy in 1943. Part of a large Allied invasion, it was expected that Italy would quickly surrender, but the mountainous terrain and bad weather, coupled with heavy German resistance, meant that casualties began to add up quickly. This was reflected in the German propaganda. One piece drives this point home by declaring ‘The mountains and valleys of “Sunny Italy” want to see you…” The front depicts the mountains gobbling up British soldiers, while on the back a skeleton has dug a grave ready for another. Another leaflet William saved was less cartoonish, stating that the road to Rome was paved in skulls and that, despite all the Allies’ efforts, German defences in Italy held. The sheer resistance of the German lines to any Allied attempts to break through made them a formidable barrier, and there must have been many men who had to consider the possibility that they would be part of just another wave sent against an unbreakable line. The German propaganda was blunt and relied on images of death and violence, reflecting this fear, or at least to the idea that the German government wanted the Allies in Italy to worry about this.
George Warren leaflets, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Collection, Heritage Doncaster
Two more leaflets collected by George Warren in the same theatre of the war make similar points. Before the war George was a shop assistant. He enlisted at Strensall north of York in 1940 and found himself fighting up southern and central Italy as well. One of his leaflets, titled The Cassino debacle, specifically mentions the casualties suffered by the 2nd New Zealand and 4th Indian Divisions. It’s easy for us in the UK to think exclusively about the war in terms of British soldiers and their experiences and concerns. But it was of course a truly international war, with Commonwealth and other Allied forces fighting on all fronts. This isn’t recognised by another of the other leaflets that George kept. This one was addressed specifically to the American and British soldiers. Written in English, it mocks their efforts in the last three months of fighting. Like the others it tried to create an fear in the minds of the men. Fear that they were being sent to die in an attempt to break an unbreakable line of defences. Now we know that the Allies would break through after 3 more months of fighting. Though many thousands of casualties was the price. The Italian campaign used up resources that the German armed forces couldn’t afford to lose. As such, it’s not too surprising that propaganda was directed at soldiers on that front. And also that men in the KOYLI brought it home.
As the war went on, both sides produced more and more propaganda. Many leaflets tried to take advantage of people’s tiredness, both at home and in the field. Other examples in the KOYLI collection tried to get the men to think of how much they miss their wives or families. Some examples ask the soldiers what they might be missing at home. Others targeted particular groups of Allied soldiers. You can find examples online of similar leaflets addressed to Polish soldiers, or American, or Indian.
It’s important to remember that every document was produced for a reason. Whether it’s a military passport or a leaflet encouraging trapped soldiers to surrender. The stories behind these documents add detail and context to any research you’re doing. We just need to remember to ask ourselves why they exist in the first place.
Do you have any wartime propaganda at home? There’s often a lot of information available about them online and in documents from the time. If you’d like to learn more about any you might have, any other military documents we’re more than happy to help. You can get in touch with us via our social media, or by emailing the museum at [email protected].
All images of objects from the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Collection are shared under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), credit to Heritage Doncaster.