The History of 'Keep Calm and Carry On'

I will be the first to admit that I am not fully in tune with the meme culture of the 21st century. Jokes and mottos come and go as I try and grasp the lingo of society. I remember when the first memes began flooding the internet; meme cats, early YouTube videos, and cartoons made way for the invasion of the 'Meme-Lords.' Some are created from thin air while others have deep historical roots that we can trace. 'Keep Calm and Carry On' is one of these memes.

The Sturdy British

A few British propaganda posters from World War II included slogans that are still remembered today. 'Dig for Victory,' 'Careless Talk Costs Lives,' and 'Make Do and Mend,' among others, have become masterpieces of the genre, with the latter having fresh importance in these austere times. Similarly resonant, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' has become the most well-known of the bunch. This is owed in part to the nostalgic allure of its stiff-upper-lip tone, delivered in clipped alliterative RP, but the timing of its reintroduction as a recession approached could not have been better timed.

Despite being produced on roughly 2.5 million posters by the Government's Ministry of Information in August 1939, historian Dr Rebecca Lewis discovered that "Keep Calm and Carry On" was never seen in public. It was kept in reserve exclusively if the country was attacked, and the entire series of posters was pulped after the war. The statement was effectively forgotten for 60 years until an original poster was unearthed in a bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland, in 2000.

Stuart Manley, co-owner of Barter Books with his wife Mary, found it crumpled up at the bottom of a crate of books they had recently purchased at auction. They framed the poster and hung it near the shop's counter, admiring the bold red and white design - the only graphic compromise being a George VI crown above the words. As additional people inquired about getting a copy, the Manleys printed a batch of 500 and sold a few thousand by the time the poster was featured in a Guardian supplement in December 2005. According to Manley, the subsequent surge in demand for the poster caused the shop's website to crash, and the crew was immediately assigned to packaging tasks. The slogan quickly made its way into mugs, mouse mats, T-shirts, and other items due to the surge in popularity. On Google, it now returns 42 million results.

The Meme

The phrase has since grown into its own business, with 'Keep Calm and Carry On' merchandise available for purchase and sale all over the world. It appears to be particularly popular among financial institutions and advertising agencies in the United States and Germany. And it's been ridiculed and parodied numerous times ('Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake', for example), with the crown device often replaced with a more appropriate logo. The frenzy also rekindled interest in two other posters that were created around the same period and, unlike 'Keep Calm,' saw active use: 'Freedom Is in Peril: Defend It With All Your Might' and 'Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory.' However, instead of the vivid pillar box red that initially linked them, modern tastes necessitate these posters in green and blue.

The storey changed again in August of last year. Keep Calm and Carry On Ltd was created in 2006 by Mark Coop, who successfully sought an EU trademark on the term. His internet store now sells non-KCACO items, but the action alarmed many eBay merchants, who have now been forced to stop selling items with the KCACO brand. The Manleys want the phrase to be returned to the public domain, and Barter Books still sells its prints and a variety of other goods - after all, it is the source of the poster's resuscitation.

I remember using the term when I was younger, and as I walk through London, I still see the various merchandise sold in shops. From t-shirts to posters, the motto continues to influence the meme culture of the 21st century. Even though it has died down since its frenzy spread in the late 00s, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' continues to beat the test of time.

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