Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.193
Object Name
Poster
Title
Cut the call-up, bring the troops home from Cyprus, Malaya and Kenya poster
Place
Cyprus; Malaya; Kenya
People
Churchill
Events
Mau Mau uprising, Malayan War of Independence, Cypriot Independence War
Date
1948-1956
Description
A large yellow screen-printed poster. Yellow background with large black text that fills the page. "CUT THE CALL-UP. BRING THE TROOPS HOME FROM CYPRUS, MALAYA, KENYA"
This poster is referring to national service, and army conscription - this is sometimes referred to as "call-up." This poster is also anti-imperialist, calling for troops to be taken out of colonies which were fighting for independence from Britain. Under the National Service Act introduced in 1947, healthy males aged 18 or over were obliged to serve in the armed forces for 18 months, Its abolition was in 1957, but continued until 1960. Many people were trained to police regions occupied by the British after the war, to provide reserves of troops; these were important for immediate deployment in areas were they were decolonisation wars, such as Cyprus, Malaya and Kenya - which are all referred to in this poster. The Cypriot War of Independence, also known as the Cyprus Emergency, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus from 1955-1959 - there were armed campaigns to end the British colonial rule in Cyprus.
The Anti-Britain National Liberation War, also known as the Malayan Emergency was from 1948-1960. This was a Guerrilla War fought in Malaya between Communist Pro-independence fighters of the Malayan Liberation army against the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth. The Communists fought to win independence for Malaya from the British Empire. The British referred to these independence movements and liberation wars as "emergencies", to ensure money for the armies deployed. In 1948, Britain declared an emergency in Malaya following the attack on plantations. The Mau Mau uprising/rebellion/revolt (also referred to as the Kenya Emergency by the British) was a war in British-occupied Kenya, between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (Mau Mau) and British authorities. The rebel leader was captured by the British army in 1956. but the rebellion survived until after Kenyan Independence. Suppressing the Mau Mau uprising cost Britain 55,000 pounds and caused 11,000 deaths among
the Mau Mau. The British Empire committed war crimes in Kenya, and used the largest amount of wartime capital punishment by the Empire in Kenya - some of these war crimes include massacres, bombing of civilians, concentration camps, sexual assault and other forms of violent torture. This poster is calling for the stop of mass army training and deployment, and to bring the current troops from Cyprus, Malaya and Kenya back to Britain, to stop the repression of liberation movements and other forms of British military violence in other countries.
This poster is in good condition. The bottom of the poster says "printed by PUBLICITY printing co., (T.U) 464 Duke St., Glasgow, E.1."
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