If the Invader Comes – What To Do – And How To Do It – Ministry of Information, June 1940 – Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes

Original wartime government leaflet issued by the Ministry of Information, in co-operation with the War Office and the Ministry of Home Security, during the invasion crisis of June 1940.

Published immediately after the evacuation from Dunkirk and the fall of France, If the Invader Comes was one of the most important British home-front publications of the Second World War. It set out in direct, practical language how civilians should behave in the event of German invasion: stay put unless ordered to move, ignore rumours, report suspicious activity, deny supplies and transport to the enemy, help the military when instructed, organise factories and shops, and think of the country before oneself.

The leaflet reflects the acute anxiety of summer 1940, when Britain faced the real prospect of German invasion. Its instructions were intended to prevent panic, maintain order, and ensure that civilians did not inadvertently assist enemy forces. The text famously stresses that if Germans arrived by parachute, aeroplane or ship, the civilian population must remain where they were unless ordered otherwise.

The print code at the foot records the very large emergency issue of 14,300,000 copies in June 1940. Despite this enormous original print run, surviving examples are increasingly collected as direct artefacts of Britain’s invasion scare and home-front mobilisation. Institutional and reference examples are recorded in major wartime collections, including the Imperial War Museums, British Government Information and Propaganda collections, and local home-front archives. British Online Archives notes that the leaflet was produced by the Ministry of Information and distributed to every household in Britain in June 1940.

This copy is distinguished by its provenance. It formed part of the collection of Robert Hastings, Churchill scholar and collector, before entering The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine. Forbes assembled one of the most significant private Churchill collections of modern times, and this provenance adds particular interest to home-front material connected with Britain’s 1940 struggle for survival.

Condition: Very good. Fragile. Has a few short closed tears. Original fold creases, light age toning and minor handling wear. Complete and legible.

Date: June 1940
Publisher: Ministry of Information, in co-operation with the War Office and Ministry of Home Security
Size: 21.1 x 27.5 cm
Format: Single-sheet leaflet, printed both sides
Provenance: Robert Hastings; The Churchill Collection of Steve Forbes

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