The poster was initially produced in 1939 during the beginning of World War II, and was intended as a "last case scenario" to be used only should the Nazis succeed in invading Great Britain, in order to stiffen resolve. Two-and-a-half million copies were printed, although the poster was distributed but never used. The poster was third in a series of three. The previous two posters from the series, "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" (800,000 printed) and "Freedom is in Peril" (400,000 printed) were issued and used across the country for motivational purposes, as the Government assumed that the nerves of the public would be shot to pieces (they soon changed tack). The posters were designed to have a uniform device, be a design associated with the Ministry of Information, have a unique and recognizable typography, with a message from the King to his people (whereas it later notoriously became "the People's War"). The slogans were created by civil servants, with Waterfield coming up with "Your Courage" as "a rallying war-cry that will bring out the best in everyone of us and put us in an offensive mood at once". These particular posters were designed as "a statement of the duty of the individual citizen", un-pictorial, to be accompanied by more colloquial designs. The "Your Courage" poster was much more famous during the war, as it was the first to go up, very large, and was the first of the Ministry of Information's posters. The posters remained in storage during the war but the simple five-word message is the very model of British restraint and stiff upper lip. Keep calm and carry on.
Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will bring us Victory so Keep Calm and Carry On. Life is good. Challenges are growth. We will succeed.
