This feature appeared in the Bromley & District Times calling for more to be done to save Daddy’s Medal… Our part in the Great Offensive doesn’t call for bravery, but it does call for devotion… Devotion to Duty. No matter how hard we work, no matter how much we save, we cannot equal the sacrifice made by the men who use the weapons we provide… But we must try, so that at the end of it all we can say that “by devotion to duty” we, too, have played our…
Tag: Adverts
Trailblazing iconic fashion of the 1940s
Although we look back at the 1940’s and think of it as a decade of mostly war and hardship, it was in fact a milestone decade for style in women’s fashion, despite the 1930’s being a hard act to follow. With style icons such as Christian Dior, Ava Gardner, Bette Davis, Doris Day and Rita Hayworth, these women were trailblazers in styles and new silhouettes – many styles of which are still supported today in women’s fashion. These adverts appeared in the local newspaper in 1943, encouraging women to invest…
House of Perrings
This featured appeared in the Bromley & District Times in 1941, giving a lovely introduction to the family firm Perring. A furniture company based on value and honesty. It was in 1892 that a new name came to the furniture trade of London when William Perring, a young man from the West Country, opened a small shop in Paddington. There was an ideal behind this venture – an ideal of service and value. It was an ideal which found a ready response. To-day you will find the name of Perring…
Caretaker needed for Smallpox Hospital – Job Advert, 1941
Looking for a job? Here’s a good one for a couple – but the remunerations is somewhat uneven but they do get accommodation (no children) and rations and washing. So maybe for the right couple it would be a good opportunity. West Kent Joint Hospital Board Caretakers of Smallpox Hospital Applications are invited from parried couples for this joint appointment determinable by one calendar months notice given by or to the Board. Salaries – Husband £110 per annum and wife £56 per annum, together with residence (no accommodation for children),…
Sending Parcels to the Front Line
Right from the outset of the second world war, British railways were the mainstay of the internal transport system. They were used extensively for transporting goods and war equipment, as well as troops and evacuated children. Railways had proved harder to bomb and much easier to repair than alternative modes of transport. War saw a major reorganisation of the railway industry in Britain. which resulted in the control of the railways being passed to the Railway Executive Committee. They took responsibility for running the network and giving information on urgent…
Battle of the Atlantic
An example of how newspapers advertised the dramatics of the war to help sell newspapers. This advert for the News Chronicle newspaper appeared in the Bromley & District Times newspaper in March 1941. Battle of the Atlantic German U-Boats and Bombers V British Fleet, Convoy System, The Coastal Command and the R.A.F. Hitler threatens that the great Battle of the Atlantic is about to start. What shall we do to combat the menace to the vital routes between this country and the continent of America? How will the enemy attack…
What do I do? – Ministry of Information Advice
The Ministry of Information (MOI), was a central government department created briefly at the end of the first world war, and again on the 4th September 1939, the day after Britain’s declaration of war, with the first Minister sworn into Office on 5 September 1939. The Ministry’s function was “To promote the national case to the public at home and abroad in time of war” by issuing “National Propaganda” and controlling news and information Initially it was responsible for censorship, issuing official news, home publicity and overseas publicity in Allied and neutral…
Travel Advert: Grey-Green Coach
Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator based in Stamford Hill and operated in London and the East of England. The company was trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer’s horse carriage business in 1885. The business prospered, and summer-only services operated to many South Coast resorts. Before the end of the 1920s, East Anglia was well covered too. The first service to operate throughout the year was a London to Ipswich service that commenced in June 1928. The 1930s started with the introduction…
Influenza – The Best Known Safeguard against Infection is Ovaltine
‘Ovaltine’ was developed in Switzerland by Dr. George Wander in 1865 where it is known by its original name Ovomaltine (from ovum, Latin for “egg”, and malt, originally its main ingredients.) In 1900 his son, Albert, took over the business and in 1909 brought it to England where he established the British company A. Wander Ltd. It is believed that a misspelling of the name on the trademark registration application led to the name being shortened to Ovaltine in English-speaking markets. And so, it was sold as Ovaltine for the…
Bromley War Weapons Week
Before the US entered the war, and still with the threat of invasion, War Weapon Weeks was a way to encourage people to save in War Bonds and similar Government schemes to help re-arm. This advert was one of many which appeared in the local newspaper advertising a local ‘War Weapons Week” February 15th – 20th (1941) Bromley’s War Weapons Week Get ready to make your money fight Our War Weapons Week is coming! It will be our special chance to help pay for the huge armaments needed to win this war, Let us…