By Lucy Crossley A fascinating collection featuring almost every British Army recruitment poster for the First World War has emerged after 30 years hidden in an attic. The extremely rare archive boasts almost 200 posters issued between 1914 and 1916, which hoped to persuade British men to do their bit to protect King and country by enlisting. They highlight the increasingly menacing tone used in the run-up to compulsory conscription in 1916 after Britain suffered so many losses on the Western Front. Hidden history: A fascinating collection featuring almost every British Army recruitment poster for the First World War has emerged after 30 years hidden in an attic. These two posters from 1915 (left) and 1914 (right) hoped to persuade British men to do their bit to protect King and country by enlisting
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Arthur Maxted, 72, from Kent, inherited the collection from his grandfather who printed the posters during the war
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He stored them in his attic for 30 years and forgot all about them until he started researching the 1914-18 conflict
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Rare archive boasts almost 200 posters issued between 1914 and 1916 which hoped to persuade British men to enlist
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Collection shows the increasingly menacing tone used in the run up to compulsory conscription in 1916
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The collection of posters will be sold at auction in July in Dorset and are expected to fetch £20,000
However, within a year of @placeholder's declaration of war in August 1914, it became obvious that the country would not be able to continue fighting with just voluntary recruits.