'Remember Scarborough!', 1915 (c)

Recruiting poster published by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee. Poster No. 29. Printed by Harrison and Sons.

Propaganda posters played an important role in encouraging people to support the war. As well as patriotic messages, they often depicted images of women and children who needed protection. Others showed examples of alleged German atrocities. This one refers to the German naval raid on the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 16 December 1914. Five battle cruisers from the First High Seas Fleet shelled the towns, killing 130 people and wounding another 592. The incident caused outrage in Britain and was used by propagandists as a recruiting tool.