''Ware Sharks Take Care of Your Gratuity', 1945

Lithograph poster designed by Abram Games (1914-1996), printed by Fosh and Cross Limited, London, for HM Stationery Office, 1945.

When service personnel left the armed forces after the end of the war they were paid a cash lump sum based on their length of military service. This was made up of two parts, a 'post war credit' and a 'war gratuity'. Because the sums involved could be quite substantial, soldiers were warned to beware of unscrupulous people who might try to defraud them.

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