When tittle tattle lost the battle

This past week there have been many moving ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) marking the end of the war in Europe. I was born shortly after the war (a “bundle for Britain”) but this week’s celebrations brought to mind wartime slogans and expressions that surfaced between 1939-45 and remained in use for years to come.

- Roger Crutchley

Some of the slogans like “Britain Can Take It” were purely designed to keep up the spirits of the British public. To get more people involved there was a “Dig For Victory” poster urging citizens to use gardens and allotments to produce potatoes and other vegetables. Sections of Hyde Park in London were even ploughed up to promote the growing of spuds and onions.

There were also quite a few creative slogans which tended to be of a more serious nature. The most prevalent messages were warnings about unwittingly giving away information which could be useful to the enemy. “Keep it under your hat” became a regular piece of advice for those linked to military operations.

Probably the most famous poster was “Careless Talk Costs Lives” which depicts two women gossiping in a restaurant with the adjacent wallpaper covered in Hitler motifs. It was often backed up with another slogan “Walls have ears” which you may still hear on occasions. It is believed to have been partly inspired by 18th century author Jonathan Swift who once wrote a cautionary" walls have tongues and hedges ears”.

Alliteration also played a role in some wartime posters such as those designed to remind citizens that “Loose lips may sink ships’ and the splendid “Tittle tattle lost the battle”.

Keeping calm