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PMR.
[illegible]P/23/52
PHOTOGRAPH DIVISION. 25th June, 1941.
DISPLAYS OF PHOTOGRAPHS TO STIMULATE PRODUCTION AND MORALE.

Type 1. General War news photographs. These would be displayed in canteens etc. on the same lines as the “Topical Screen” scheme under which the Ministry has nearly 400 weekly displays of about 50 current photographs served weekly with 7 to 10 new subjects. This is extremely important owing to the very small number of pictures published nowadays on account of paper shortage. Home as well as Overseas events and a few publicity subjects would be included.

Type 2 “Local interest” photographs showing a particular factory; workers at work; visits from eminent personalities etc.

Type 3. Photographs showing weapons of all kinds in action, chosen to show the connection between particular factories’ production, the complete weapon, and the Forces in action.

Note Sale to the workers of postcards and other reproductions of the above is an important adjunct to display.

Hitherto the use of photographs for display in factories, although strongly approved in principle, has not gone much beyond a few individual experiments.

We have supplied small quantities to the Ministry of Supply and Ministry of Aircraft Production. We are also trying out a small scheme for miners with the Bestwood Collieries. In the case of Supply and Aircraft Production the photographs have been, in all cases, of types 2 and 3. This Division has had no control as to subject, caption, or method of display. Considerable work has also been done in connection with the War Savings Committee, whose Group Saving publicity scheme during the next three months will tax the present Loan Library of between 20 and 30,000 pictures pretty heavily.

The War Savings Scheme is, of course, a public display scheme in shop windows etc. Distribution is direct from Photograph Division to Local Savings Committee, who carries out local display.

The Supply of photographs by this Ministry through Supply, M.A.P., etc., to stimulate output, was approved by the Industrial Publicity Committee on June 11th. Since then I have had a long discussion with Wynne, of Supply, whose Ministry's ideas seem, briefly summarised, as follows. (It is safe to assume M.A.P's ideas would be very much the same).

Type 1.

Although we should have no control of the actual placing of the screens or a guaranteed display of the material sent each week, the photographs and captions would be usually the same as those selected by the Ministry for its own “Topical Screens”.

Type 2 .

This series would inevitably depend upon the requirements of the local manager or Welfare Officer, who would deal only with the Ministry of Supply.

Type 3.

This raises the main question of policy.

Distribution would inevitably have to be regionalised and in the hands of an officer in each region, closely in touch with all factories, and aware of the nature of their manufacture and their special morale problems. Wynne was of opinion that the appropriate regional distribution centre should be an officer of the special local committees being set up (or revived) by the Industrial Publicity Committee to deal with factory morale and output. Security is also involved.

With the possible exception of Type 1, choice of subjects, captions etc. would under this scheme be provided by the Ministry of Supply. This Ministry's function would, in fact, be purely one of production to order.

On the technical side the Ministry of Supply must inevitably deal with the captions, but it is by no means certain that this Ministry's advice would be accepted where angle of appeal and general morale questions were concerned. On the whole the officers at the Ministry of Supply, and at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, are personally co-operative, but no matters of morale policy have been raised with them as yet.

The Press Officer of the Ministry of Mines has now approached me and is coming at the end of the week to discuss details of a scheme covering the use of photographs for coal output stimulation. Both Agriculture and Works are also hinting at Photograph displays.

It is intended that photogravure reproductions as well as posters should be woven into the photographic display schemes. If the number of screens or sites grew very considerably, the necessity for issuing new photographs in printed strips would have to be considered. The supply of pictures of Types 2 and 3 to individual factories would, of their nature, have to be photographic.

The great advantages of the use of photographs over printed matter are the speed of production, the stronger appeal of actual photographic enlargements, and the flexibility of photographs where widely differing manufacture and morale problems are concerned.

COST OF SCHEMES .

It is obviously impossible to give any useful estimates of total costs at this stage. The centralisation of supply of photographs for these schemes appears essential and is certainly the only economical way of providing the photographs. Our Library will inevitably be the main source of subjects, (and negatives). An experiment with, say, 8 factories for four weeks, using all three types would cost under £50; if the scheme were then generally adopted the cost would drop considerably, as most of the enlargements could be re-issued to other factories participating.