Description
Physical description
silk handkerchief depicting Fougasse cartoons of people gossiping with the following captions: in the centre is 'You never know who's listening; in the four corners are: 'Of course there's no harm in your knowing!', '...but of course it mustn't go any further!', 'Don't forget that walls have ears!', 'Strictly between you and me...'. The handkerchief is 32 cm square.
Label
Second World War British handkerchief with instructional humorous cartoon designs and slogans by 'Fougasse' (Cyril Kenneth Bird, 1887-1965) for the Ministry of Information's 'Careless Talk Cost Lives' home security campaign. In July 1940 Churchill sent a telegram to civil servants and military commanders urging them to take what steps were necessary to curb loose tongues. To get across to as wide a public as possible the importance of avoiding indiscreet gossip, Churchill's instruction was followed shortly afterwards by the Ministry of Information's publication of Fougasse's famous poster bearing the slogan CARELESS TALK COST LIVES (for original, see PST/142 held by the IWM's Department of Art). This handkerchief is an example of the imaginative attempts made to get this important security message across to the general public. For further information about the artist Fougasse (who was Art editor of Punch from 1937 to 1948) see the Departments of Art and Printed Books.
History note
This handkerchief depicts Fougasse cartoons. In July 1940 Churchill sent a telegram to civil servants and military commanders urging them to take what steps were necessary to curb loose tongues. To get across to as wide a public as possible the importance of avoiding indiscreet gossip, Churchill's instruction was followed shortly afterwards by the publication of Fougasse's famous poster bearing the slogan CARELESS TALK COST LIVES. This handkerchief is another example of how attempts were made to get this important message across to the general public. For further information about the artist Fougasse (Cyril Kenneth Bird) see the Departments of Art and Printed Books.