The centenary of America’s entry into World War One is April 6, 2017. The United States had held a neutral position with respect to the war from 1914 to 1917.

Growing sympathy from the American public for the European nations under attack by Germany and the German aggression against the U.S. maritime industry led the U.S. Congress to declare war on Germany. Twenty-eight men and women from Lyme, CT enlisted or were drafted into national service.

The U.S. government was faced with mobilizing an unprepared American public to support this critical and costly war effort. A national Committee for Public Information was formed to address the problem. One approach was the creation of posters to inform and engage the public for which thousands of artists were hired to create for publication by the U.S. government and other civic agencies. The posters themselves have become memorable and iconic artifacts of the Great War. More photos of World War I posters can be viewed at the Lyme Local History Archives. The photographs were donated by Mr. Chamberlain Ferry to the Archives.

TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF MORE WORLD WAR I POSTERS IN OUR GALLERY,
CLICK HERE

The Lyme Local History Archives is seeking information about Lyme’s World War I vets and life on the home front in 1918. If you have family memories to share or documents that you would allow the Archives to scan, please contact archivist Carolyn Bacdayan at lymepublichall@att.net.