The use of media and propaganda during the First World War served a multitude of purposes. It was not only used to encourage young men to sign up to the army, it also aimed to keep morale high, and maintain the nation’s will to fight.
Recruitment campaigns
The most well-known campaign was that of Lord Kitchener’s appeal for volunteers to sign up to the army. Lord Kitchener was Secretary of State for War and had been a career soldier; he believed the war would last up to four years and millions of men would need to be mobilised to win the war. Therefore he created a new volunteer army – soldiers had to be at least 18 years old to join, and 19 before they could be sent abroad to fight.