Description
“What to do if fighting breaks out in my neighborhood.”
The two most dire and immediate of all British World War II leaflets. Each was distributed to the citizenry of the British Isles in anticipation of a Nazi invasion; IF THE INVASION COMES in June 1940 and BEATING THE INVADER in May 1941.
IF THE INVASION COMES contains no contribution from Winston Churchill but is rarely seen. BEATING THE INVADER, Churchill bibliographer Frederick Woods apparently believed, was entirely of Winston Churchill’s authorship, and so listed it as an A item. Recent bibliographer Ronald Cohen has re-categorized it as a B item, stating that National Archives documents show clearly that the text was prepared by the Ministry of Information and then forwarded to the Prime Minister, who supplied an introduction.
Millions of each were ultimately printed and distributed (over 14 million of BEATING THE INVADER) but few copies survive today. There were three distinct issues of BEATING THE INVADER; this is an example of the First. Both leaflets are in exceptional condition under the circumstances.
