A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
One of the main conclusions of our project is that the Second
World War was fought with information as well as weapons.
The Ministry of Information is an obvious example of this trend. It represented an attempt by the British government to use communication to win and hold the trust …
In this guest post, John Beales considers the strained relationship between the MOI and regional blood donor recruitment organisers. The post is based on research undertaken for a M.A. History dissertation at the University of Bristol. John is now working on an AHRC-funded PhD at Keele University and the Imperial …
This post first appeared on the Talking Humanities blog.
Although government institutions can appear impersonal, all are shaped by those who work for them. This was especially true of the Ministry of Information established at the outbreak of the Second World War. Its (mostly temporary) staff were an eclectic …
In this post project fellow Marc Wiggam looks at the Ministry's involvement in the resignation of the Reuters chairman in 1941.
In 1939 the Foreign Office valued two institutions above others for their ability to project the image of Britain abroad. The first was the BBC, and its channels of …
This is the second blog from postdoctoral research fellow Hollie Price following the recent release of Their Finest (dir. Lone Scherfig), which centres on fictional screenwriter Catrin Cole’s role co-writing a feature film in London during the Blitz.
In the face of bureaucratic restraints and reflecting some of the real-life …
In this post, project fellow Hollie Price looks at the depiction of the Ministry's film production in Their Finest.
Currently in cinemas is Their Finest (dir. Lone Scherfig), a drama focussing on the trials and tribulations of film propaganda production during the Blitz, in which central character Catrin Cole …
In the last of our current series of public seminars, project leader Professor Simon Eliot will be discussing his work on the Ministry's interest in public reading habits during the war. The seminar will be held in room 234 at Senate House between 6 and 7pm, on Thursday 20th April. …
A panel of newspaper and Ministry staff addresses journalists at Senate House, 1944. Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. © IWM (D 18066)
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for …
As part of our series of public seminars, independent researcher Dave Walton will be discussing his work at the British Library on uncatalogued Ministry propaganda. The seminar will be held in room N102 of the Institute of Historical Studies at Senate House between 6 and 7pm, on Thursday 16th March. …
MOI Digital’s seminar series - which illuminates and investigates the work of the Ministry of Information throughout the Second World War – will resume in the spring term. Seminars will take place between 6 and 7pm. They are all free to attend, and there's no need to book.
23 February, …