Keep Calm and Carry On: Origins and History
I’ve noticed a lot of young tumblrites posting and reblogging the trendy “Keep Calm and Carry On” message… or whatever variations they’ve created to suit their fancies. But how many of them actually know what it represents? Believe it or not, the popular blog icon has a history worth knowing.
In 1939, on the eve before the onset of the war, the British government designed the slogan along with a series of other reassurance posters in hopes of settling the nerves of the public. However, at the start of the war, the Ministry of Information opted to publicize a different poster- Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory. The political propoganda continued with the release of another poster- Freedom Is In Peril, Defend It With All Your Might’ Our beloved meme, however, never made it to the streets. Although printed and readily available, it was no longer needed by the close of the war.
Today, the original prints are kept by British National Archives.
