91Èȱ¬

Bomb Disposal Poster from 1942

Contributed by PennyGalpin

Bomb Disposal Poster from 1942

This poster came to me from my father, who was in the Royal Engineers as a sapper during the Second World War, in the UK. It depicts the hierarchy and personnel involved in bomb disposal, from the aloof officers at Group HQ to the men who did the dirty work, risking their lives - and many lost them - defusing bombs; and all the others who supported them.

The draftsman seems to have made the poster to entertain his fellow soldiers, and it bears his name and a Major's, bottom left. There is much black humour - bombs with faces, men flying through the air - which seems to evoke the war-time spirit of getting on with things and making a bad situation bearable.

I wanted to add this object because there has been a great deal in the media this year about the Blitz and the Battle of Britain, but very little has been said about this group of equally brave men.

My father came through the war uninjured physically, and was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division)'in recognition of gallant conduct in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner'. But he lost many comrades, and suffered some sort of post traumatic stress disorder for a while a few years later.

Comments are closed for this object

Comments

  • 2 comments
  • 1. At 15:13 on 22 February 2011, Mags wrote:

    My late father was also in the Royal Engineers in the war. He served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

  • 2. At 18:54 on 3 June 2011, new_germany wrote:

    "Never the good is brought by wars, you, peace, is what we long for."
    Th cross of the nails of Coventry has been handed to the city of Würzburg, Germany, on the 16th of March 2001.
    Each year between 9.25 and 9.42 p.m., the air raid time, there is a
    MEMORIAL REQUIEM
    City of Würzburg, totally destructed by the RAF
    + 16 th of March 1945

    [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]

Share this link:

Most of the content on A History of the World is created by the contributors, who are the museums and members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the 91Èȱ¬ or the British Museum. The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site’s House Rules please Flag This Object.

About this object

Click a button to explore other objects in the timeline

Location
Culture
Period

1942

Theme
Size
H:
50cm
W:
62cm
Colour
Material

View more objects from people in Lancashire.

Podcast

91Èȱ¬ iD

91Èȱ¬ navigation

91Èȱ¬ © 2014 The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.