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The War Illustrated, vol 9, no 216
The War Illustrated, vol 9, no 216

The War Illustrated, vol 9, no 216

Publisher (British, 1939 - 1947)
Date28 September 1945
Object number00031768
NameMagazine
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 283 x 224 mm, 0.068 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionA copy of 'The War Illustrated', 28 September 1945. The cover features a photograph of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, KCB, GCVO, DSO, Supreme Allied Commander South-East Asia Command, and General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific. 'The War Illustrated' was a pictorial bi-monthly magazine published in London and relesaed 255 issues during the course of the Second World War. HistoryLaunched in 1914 'The War Illustrated' was an immediate reaction to Britain entering the war. The first issue was released just 18 days after Britain declared war on Germany and these earliest issues show a strongly patriotic flavour. Promoted as a ‘Pictorial Record of the Conflict of the Nations', the magazine didn’t disappoint with numerous photographs and drawings of scenes of conflict. There were additional articles and opinion pieces, again, highly patriotic and there has been criticism that these early editions included exaggerated 'facts' or outright fabrications. Published by Sir John Hammerton, 'The War Illustrated’, is said to have stabilized by 1916, with events and claims being verified and more reliable. The publication, incredibly popular during its run, attracted well known writers such as H.G Well and Winston Churchill, with its readership reaching 750,000 by the end of WWI. Sir John Hammerton, a prolific publisher, relaunched The War Illustrated in September 1939 at the start of WWII in the same style as the earlier format. Heavily illustrated with photographs and maps, the magazine published firsthand accounts, opinion pieces and general articles on the war's progress. All arenas of the war were covered - land, sea and air - from Europe to the Pacific. The publication permanently ceased production on 11 April 1947. While Sir John Hammerton's is remembered as 'the most successful creator of large-scale works of reference that Britain has known', an estimated ten million bound editions bear his name as editor or author, his most singular association is his connection with popularizing the ‘V for Victory' sign. In late 1940 Hammerton reported in the War Illustrated his sighting of a 'V' for victory sign apparently blazed by a Hawker Hurricane in the sky over the village of Firle in Sussex. Within months the sign had replaced the customary ‘thumbs-up’ and had been adopted throughout beleaguered Europe as a symbol of defiance to Nazism. SignificanceOriginally covering the period of 1914 - 1919 in WWI, The War Illustrated was reintroduced in WWII to provide readers a pictorial record of the war in addition to personal accounts by war correspondents and articles analysing the latest developments.