History of COI
Government communication activity started in the middle of the 19th century with the Post Office.
In the 20th century a Ministry of Information was created, twice, to aid communications in the two world wars. After World War II aspects of this work were then taken on by a new Central Office of Information.
Through the decades, public information campaigns have provided important information on every aspect of life in the UK. Often the information has reflected the issues of the day, while some topics are enduring. The following pages, developed by Lucid Communication Design, help to show some of the most high profile campaigns within ther social and chronological context. You can start with some background in the 1850s-1946 - before COI, or skip straight to COI's history starting with COI: 1946-1950s
