The proud city: The noble fabric of the church of St Clement Danes

British Second World War poster by Walter E Spradbery DCM (1889-1969). One in a series called 'The Proud City' commissioned by London Transport in 1944 to boost the morale of the travelling public. The series celebrates London's survival of the Blitz and features views of iconic London buildings as if rising out of the ruins of a war-scarred landscape of the city. They appealed to commuters sense of pride over, and common ownership of, several prominent London public landmarks to remind them what they were fighting for. Spradbery designed posters for London Transport from 1912-1944 and this was his last series. The artist also chose the quotations featured in the series.

This poster depicts a the Church of St Clements Danes, which stands on an "island" in the middle of the Strand, was burnt out during the Blitz. The image takes up the whole of the top two thirds of the poster. It shows the Church restored next to a row of ruined buildings. The image is painterly and framed with a white border. Title text is at the top and beneath the image and a quotation by John Gay (1685-1732, English Poet and Dramatist, wrote 'The Beggars Opera' in 1728) is printed lower right. The London Transport logo is prominently located lower left in white. Both image and text are set against a mauve background. DRL294 (3rd S)