The slogan was first used in the United States during the 1918–20 influenza pandemic ("Spanish flu").[1]
Second World War
It was later promoted by the United Kingdom's (and New Zealand's)[2]Ministry of Health in 1942 to encourage good public hygiene and prevent the spread of the common cold, influenza and other respiratory illnesses.[3] Critics have said that the slogan, alongside "Keep Britain Tidy", were an example of "postwar Britain's nanny state".[4]
Posters were designed by British cartoonist H. M. Bateman and advised people to "trap the germs by using your handkerchief". The original posters of these were published during the Second World War and showed people in the workplace, on the street and on public transport sneezing without covering their nose or mouth, spreading their respiratory droplets. The National Archives notes that these posters were created in an attempt to prevent wartime work absenteeism because of illness.[5]