Public Morale and Publicity


The running theme of the MOI’s propaganda campaign was that the war would not be won by the military alone, but by a concerted effort of the armed services, international allies, and by the citizens of Great Britain to wage a new kind of war. A war not just based on armament and force, but by a true resolve that the world itself was at stake. Soldiers were being killed but so were civilians, bombings becoming almost a daily occurrence. It was vital that the British people do their bit to support the war and their government and it was the MOI’s purpose to maintain the morale of those same people. The citizenry was polled regularly to ascertain the mood of the country. Patriotism, encouraging words from government officials, particularly from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and a sense of national community were prevalent.