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Image Not Available for A British naval force is coming - £200,000 is needed for the British Centre
A British naval force is coming - £200,000 is needed for the British Centre
Image Not Available for A British naval force is coming - £200,000 is needed for the British Centre

A British naval force is coming - £200,000 is needed for the British Centre

Date1939-1945
Object number00036443
NamePoster
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 532 x 387 mm, 0.12 kg
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionAn Australian WWII poster to raise money for the British Centre featuring an illustration of a sailor with a HMS ARHOIES cap tally. The text reads 'A British naval force is coming - £200,000 is needed for the British Centre to provide meals, accomodation, recreation. They did not fail us We must not fail them. Enquires and donations to the British Centre. MacDonell House, 321, Pitt Street, Sydney. - Ma 1302'. The British Centre was built by public donations and opened at Hyde Park in 1945.HistoryPoster such as this provide a glimpse of the war effort in a pre-television era when money, labour and personal sacrifices were required by all Australians not just those who were in the services . Of equal importance were the recruitment posters for the services and for the reserves - for those who were not able to go to war but could provide labour and protection on the home front. "The British Centre was built and constituted as a self-governing branch of the Australian Comforts Fund in September 1944 to cater for British naval servicemen who were part of the British Pacific Fleet based in Sydney .The Australian public donated funds to build a new headquarters building for the British Centre in Hyde Park which opened on 22 June 1945 opened by the Governor-General of Australia HRH the Duke of Gloucester). The British Centre had 8 subsidiary establishments including an officers club in Macquarie Street and another at the Australian Golf Club at Kensington. The British Centre needed 200,000 pounds to build its new centre and to renovate its other premises. This amount was easily surpassed by the public donations. The British Centre in Hyde Park served more than 2,500,000 meals and provided beds for 300,000 in the years of its operation. " [http://www.tawo.org.au/wiki/index.php/British_Centre] [SignificanceIn WWI and more particularly WWII, propaganda posters played a critical role in mobilising public support.