Lord Kitchener's iconic 'Your country needs you' image was never used on recruitment posters for First World War

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James Taylor's new book says the image was never used as a recruitment poster
His research shows that the image was produced by a graphic designer for a magazine

Published: 03:38 EST, 3 August 2013 | Updated: 03:59 EST, 3 August 2013

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Misconception: James Taylor's new book claims that the 'Your Country Needs You' image featuring Lord kitchener was never actually used on recruitment posters

It's the iconic poster that is said to have been the call to arms that millions of young men to sign up for the Army in World War One.

But an art expert turned historian has cast doubt over the authenticity of Lord Kitchener's famous 'Your Country Needs You' as a recruitment poster.

In a new book James Taylor, who has researched the history of recruitment posters, has claimed that the public perception that the image of Kitchener pointing a finger encouraged swathes of men to go off and fight in the trenches is a misconception.

In the book, entitled Your Country Needs You, he says that his research shows that the image was never used for official recruitment purposes and not widely produced as a poster.

Mr Taylor, a former Victorian paintings specialist at a London auctioneers, studied records of the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee which produced war time posters in the National Archives at Kew.

Despite the records showing nearly 200 official recruitment posters used during the First World War, the Kitchener poster is absent from the archives.

He also looked at several thousand images of street scenes and recruitment offices taken during the war and found no trace of the poster.

He says that the image was first used on the cover of London Opinion magazine and designed by graphic artist Alfred Leete.

The magazine then offered its readers the opportunity to buy postcards of the image for 1s 4d for 100 - but Mr Taylor has been unable to track down any surviving postcards.

The image was catalogued by mistake in the Imperial War Museum's poster collection when it acquired the artwork in 1917 leading to the public's misconception over its use.

Even the wording associated with the image has changed over the decades. The original design featured an image of Kitchener and the words 'wants you' underneath followed by 'join your country's army! God save the King'.

Lord Kitchener was secretary of state for war during World War One

Lord Kitchener (left) pictured during World War One

Icon: Lord Horatio Kitchener, pictured during the First World War, was appointed secretary of state for war in 1914

But the words have changed to 'Your country needs you' in later reproductions.

He told the Daily telegraph: 'The image's influence now is absolutely out of all kilter with the reality of its initial impact.

'It has taken on a new kind of life. It is such a good image and, saying that, it was later seized upon.'

Born in Ireland in June 1850, Lord Horatio Kitchener was secretary of state for war in the first years on World War One.

He joined the Royal Engineers at the age of 21 and was appointed governor general of eastern Sudan in 1886.

He became commander in chief of the Egyptian army in 1892 and was eventually made governor of Sudan.

In 1900, Kitchener was appointed as chief of staff to Lord Roberts, British commander in the Boer War.

At war: The image had been credited with helping to recruit millions of young men to fight in the trenches

Roberts returned to England and Kitchener was left to cope with much Boer resistence.

His means of dealing with the resistance were much criticised - they included the use of camps to imprison civilians, the origin of the term 'concentration camp' which is more associated with Nazi Germany.

Despite the controversy, he was made a Viscount on his return to England in 1902 and became commander in chief in India then proconsul of Egypt.

He was made secretary of state for war when fighting broke out in 1914 and set up recruiting huge numbers of volunteers to be trained as part of a succession of new 'Kitchener armies'.

He was gradually stripped of his responsibilities by the government and he drowned in June 1916 when his ship HMS Hampshire was sunk by a German mine off the Orkney islands.