'Join the New Regular Army', 1959 (c)

Colour photolithograph recruiting poster published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Printed by Chromoworks Limited, 1959 (c).

This poster depicts a British tank commander in the turret of his tank. At the time of its production the main deployment for armoured units was with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in West Germany. Created in 1946 to help forestall any Soviet attack through the German plains, the BAOR was a massive British commitment and at its peak numbered around 80,000 soldiers. The BAOR's tank personnel lived under the constant spectre of nuclear war breaking out and having to face the massed armoured formations of the Warsaw Pact. In the event of war, it was estimated that the life expectancy of a British tank commander was around 36 hours.