"Keep Calm and Carry On"

When we first got here and started visiting stores we noticed theses signs in the gift shops that stated 'Keep Calm and Carry On'.  They seemed to be very popular and the more places we went the more we  saw of them.  We were intrigued.  We had to find out what these signs meant.  


Luckily, when visiting the home of a lady who was selling a couch we were interested in buying, her British landlord just happened to be in her house looking things over.  When we were standing in her kitchen talking I noticed she also had one of the signs.  When finishing up business with the couch and getting ready to leave, I had to ask her, "We've seen these signs everywhere.  What does it mean?!"  


Well, she didn't exactly know herself.  She knew it had something to do with WWII, which is something I never would've guessed.  So, she turned to her landlord and asked him to explain it better.  From what he told us, and a little research I did later on, we learned that during WWII there was a Ministry of Information committee formed by the British government to design morale-boosting posters to be displayed throughout Britain during the testing times that lay ahead.  


'Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory' and 'Freedom is in Peril' were the first two posters that were displayed.  'Keep Calm & Carry On' was the third poster to be designed, but was only to be displayed once Germany invaded Britain.  However, this never happened.  So this sign that's so popular today was actually never seen by the public during WWII.  The posters were all destroyed, except for a handful which were hidden and later on discovered.

So, apparently the phrase has just become really popular and people still find it reassuring even in our modern times.

So, 'Keep Calm and Carry On', my friends!

And, of course, there have also been numerous variations to the phrase, such as those seen below...