GlenBanna Posted 1 July , 2009 Share Posted 1 July , 2009 I have a 1918 Christmas postcard from the Salonica Army. The postcard shows a cartoon like British soldier holding out his hands with what looks like a small Turk and a small Bulgarian. The Title says "Finish Johnny!". Was Johnny some slang term for a nationality? Anyone know? Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temporary Viking Posted 1 July , 2009 Share Posted 1 July , 2009 Johnny Turk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 1 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 1 July , 2009 Johnny Turk Of course. problem Solved Thanks Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 2 July , 2009 Share Posted 2 July , 2009 Johnny was a generic term used by the Greeks for the British, mostly by the Greek labourers who were engaged on such tasks as road building. They picked it up from the Britsih soldiers, many of whom acted as foremen overseeing their work. The British knew little or no Greek, and simply used odd words, such as 'Johnny' for him, you etc, e.g. "Oi Johnny!!" At the end of the days work the overseer, or the Greeks as they downed tools, would announce "Finish, Johnny"; and this common phrase was incorporated into the Christmas 1918 greetings card indicating the job was finally done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 2 July , 2009 Share Posted 2 July , 2009 Johnny was the nickname for the Bulgars as well, so postcard would have linked both of them together cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahane Posted 3 July , 2009 Share Posted 3 July , 2009 Hello GlenBanna, Is there any way of seeing this curious postcard form you? Shahane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 3 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 3 July , 2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/40078915@N07/ Shahane Postcard is in a frame. So you can only see the front Hope this works. My photograph was too big to upload so I opened an account with Flickr. Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahane Posted 3 July , 2009 Share Posted 3 July , 2009 Thanks for doing that Glen, it is wonderfully weird. I love the propaganda. Does it look like a hand drawn one off or is it a print? Shahane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 3 July , 2009 Share Posted 3 July , 2009 They were produced by the 8th Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers. Ours has some kind of serial number - No.529. The Christmas version appears quite frequently. There was a New Year edition too, which is much less common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chutist33 Posted 3 August , 2009 Share Posted 3 August , 2009 Thanks for doing that Glen, it is wonderfully weird. I love the propaganda. Does it look like a hand drawn one off or is it a print? Shahane I have another "A happy christmas from the Balkans" It shows a 'Tommy' mounted on a mule, waving his cap. it is signed G D Armour. Produced by Survey Coy RE BSF No 304 Cheers, Jim K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 3 August , 2009 Share Posted 3 August , 2009 Col Armour was a cartoonist for Punch and also illustrated Masefield's Reynard the Fox. He commanded a remount unit in Salonika, and also appeared in the Allied Concert Party as a lightning artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 3 August , 2009 Author Share Posted 3 August , 2009 Kate Thanks for the information. Fascinating stuff. As a child of the fifties this character reminded me of the mischevious one on the front cover of "Mad". Reading some of some of the WW1 writing such as the "Wipers Times" makes you realise that satire didnt start with "Monty Python Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahane Posted 4 August , 2009 Share Posted 4 August , 2009 Kate Thanks for the information. Fascinating stuff. As a child of the fifties this character reminded me of the mischevious one on the front cover of "Mad". Reading some of some of the WW1 writing such as the "Wipers Times" makes you realise that satire didnt start with "Monty Python Glen I'd love to see more war time material such as this, can people recommend sources for other papers such as the Wipers Times? If anyone can recommend sources for posters, postcards, or any other material in circulation would be much appreciated. The mindset of people of those times is intriguing. Cheers, Shahane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlenBanna Posted 4 August , 2009 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2009 Shahane Take a look at this site http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...sa%3DX%26um%3D1 Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahane Posted 4 August , 2009 Share Posted 4 August , 2009 Shahane Take a look at this site http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...sa%3DX%26um%3D1 Glen That's great Glen. I wonder if the public were honed into the satire at the time, now that we can look back it seems very bold. I wonder if there were any plays, radio shows, cinema, or other forms of arts which showed the public feelings at the time. Or is this opening a new topic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now