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Keep Calm And Carry On: A Phrase You Don't Know As Well As You Think

'Keep Calm and Carry On': It's a slogan that's become so ubiquitous that it features on everything from posters to fridge magnets, to postcards, and has spawned countless parodies on the internet.

Many recognise the phrase as one to have come out of the Second World War - but there's more to the story than first meets the eye.

So how did it come about?

The posters were printed... but never went on display

During the Second World War, keeping morale high on the 'home front' was not just desirable, but absolutely necessary to the war effort.

Almost 2.5million of the 'Keep Calm' posters were printed, with the aim of them being put up all over the country - but they were never officially sanctioned for display.

Claire Brenard, art curator at London's Imperial War Museum, which has helped to put together a new book (see above) on the topic, said:

"[They were] seen as a 'decree from the King', [which was] very much from a previous era. In the First World War, maybe that would have been understood. But we're talking about an era [seen as] the 'people's war'."

"This design was actually rather unsophisticated for the audience at the time", she added.

In the end, the posters went unused and were ultimately pulped as part of the wider Paper Salvage campaign, although a few did survive.

Two other similar posters (see below) did go out, however, which were arguably less snappy and they weren't met with praise.

At a time when mass air attacks were predicted on major cities, they were deemed inappropriate and not seen as delivering a specific enough message. Claire Brenard said:

"They don't instruct anyone to actually do anything... These ones went everywhere [though]. The reaction was mixed - but generally not great."

Many claimed not to have seen the posters; while some who did see them described them as patronising and divisive.

The campaign's been described as "a resounding failure" by design historian Susannah Walker, and reflective of a misjudgement by upper-class civil servants of the mood of the people at the time.

In fact, even those responsible for Keep Calm's rediscovery have expressed their reservations.

That was husband and wife Stuart and Mary Manley. The couple, who run a small bookshop in Northumberland, discovered the poster in a box bought at auction.

The owners of Barter Books made a momentous discovery in 2000

They loved it and put it up in a frame inside their shop. Mary Manley was reluctant about selling copies, however, for reasons that would later become apparent.

She's been quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying:

"I didn't want it trivialised; but of course now it's been trivialised beyond belief."

Like it or loathe it though, Keep Calm is surely here to stay... Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!