Rugby union footballers are doing their duty. Over 90% have enlisted. British athletes! Will you follow this glorious example? / printed by Johnson, Riddle & Co., Ltd., London, S.E. – Historic Reproduction
![Rugby union footballers are doing their duty. Over 90% have enlisted. British athletes! Will you follow this glorious example? / printed by Johnson, Riddle & Co., Ltd., London, S.E., London : Publicity Department, Central London Recruiting Depot, [1915] — vintage poster](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/5b/5b855415a61e-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this vintage poster of Rugby union footballers are doing their duty. Over 90% have enlisted. British athletes! Will you follow this glorious example? / printed by Johnson, Riddle & Co., Ltd., London, S.E.. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
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Rugby union footballers are doing their duty. Over 90% have enlisted. British athletes! Will you follow this glorious example? / printed by Johnson, Riddle & Co., Ltd., London, S.E.
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This color lithograph lifts its message straight from the headline: rugby union players, it claims, have largely enlisted, with more than 90 percent gone to the colors. The poster was issued by the Central London Recruiting Depot's publicity department around 1915, when Britain relied on volunteers and recruiting appeals often singled out well-known sportsmen. It pairs the claim with a quotation from Field Marshal Lord Roberts, "This is not the time to play games," and an extract from *The Times* noting that every England rugby international of the previous season had joined up. Its direct challenge to young men to follow that example shows how sport was enlisted in the recruiting effort.
| Created / published | London : Publicity Department, Central London Recruiting Depot, [1915] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print (poster) : lithograph, color ; 76 x 51 cm. |
| Genre | 1914. Title from item." |
| Notes | This is not the time to play games" (Lord Roberts). "Every player who represented England in Rugby international matches last year has joined the colours." - extract from The Times |
| Subjects | World War, 1914-1918--Recruiting & enlistment--Great Britain. Rugby--Great Britain--1910-1920. Soldiers--British--1910-1920. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 4,165 × 5,153 px · prints to 14 × 17 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-224179 |
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