BR Poster #1 WW2 Railway Guns

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

From the outset of the 2nd World War, railways were the mainstay of the transport system, proving harder to bomb and easier to repair than alternative modes of transport.

During one weekend in September 1939 more than 1,300,000 children were evacuated from the cities to the countryside in 3,000 special trains and the following year the evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk saw more than 600 special trains transporting around 319,000 troops from Dover to camps and hospitals throughout Britain.

The war resulted in a major reorganisation of the railway industry in Britain and after the start of the war in September 1939, control of the railways was passed to the Railway Executive Committee. They took responsibility for running the network and giving information on urgent matters, including emergency timetables, ar-raid warnings and reduced services.

With the state uniting and controlling the operations of the "big four" companies during the war years, the title British Railways was used for the first time - this stayed in use until privatisation in 1994.

All of the above activities put major pressure on the railways, and so an extensive poster campaign was launched.

The newly formed Railway Executive Committee issued a whole range of posters.

This first poster is rather nice and is one of the first British Railways produced. Note in the picture that the passenger train on the left is giving way to the one on the right which is loaded with cannons (look at the smoke from the two respective engines). The poster also manages very well to convey a sense of urgency.