'This child found a 'blind', 1943

Colour lithograph poster, after Abram Games (1914-1996), printed by Alf Cooke Limited, 1943.

According to Games, 'this poster banned itself. I had reports that men were taking them down. When I asked why, they replied that they couldn't live with it. It reminded them of their children. I consider this a very successful poster as it had a huge emotional impact.'

The haunting poster was part of a wider campaign that included films and lectures to reinforce the message that weapons and ammunition must be treated with care.

'Blinds' were live rounds of ammunition that had been discarded by soldiers after practice. This poster, with its stark image of a dead child in a coffin shaped arrow, warns against this practice as children often played near military sites.

From a collection of 45 posters from World War Two (1939-1945).