Background Facts

As with any cartoon, to figure it out you must know the events occurring at the time.

1 .The cartoon was drawn in 1940.

2. At this time the Second World War was raging.

3. A British artist called Illingworth drew the cartoon.

4. Illingworth drew this cartoon for the Ministry of Information. The Ministry of Information was responsible for government publicity and propaganda from 1939 to 1946.

5. Since the War broke out in September 1939, Hitler had successfully invaded Poland, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway.

6. By 1940 the Second World War was going quite badly for Britain and her Allies. In May 1940 the war took an even more disastrous turn. Nazi Germany was on the verge of defeating France. British and French troops found themselves at Dunkirk (a French channel port) with nowhere to run to. Their backs were up against the wall. British troops were told to evacuate and abandon France to Nazi Germany. An invasion of Britain seemed to be next.

7. In August 1940 the Battle of Britain began.

8. In 1940, Britain found itself fighting the Second World War on its own - but it did have its large Empire (including India, Canada, Australia, Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies) to back it up.

9. In 1940 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister (PM). The previous PM, Neville Chamberlain, had been forced to resign. During the countdown to war, Churchill had said on many occasions that the only way to prevent a war was to stand up to Hitler. Churchill's determination and strong personality made him seem perfect for the job. He seemed the most capable person to turn things around and win victory for Britain.

10. When Churchill took over as PM public morale was extremely low. Churchill had to motivate the nation and get them into the 'fighting spirit'.