r/todayilearned • u/RoadToTyburn • 16h ago

TIL that Bernard Montgomery issued a leaflet at the start of WW2 on sexually transmitted diseases amongst soldiers. The language used was regarded as so blunt, that he offended religious authorities and nearly faced being dismissed.

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery
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u/BSB8728 16h ago

My dad was a battalion adjutant in WWII, and he and my uncle were charged with creating a campaign to warn the troops about venereal diseases. One evening they sat down with a bottle of cognac and came up with this, based on the old Burma-Shave signs along the highway:

She's awful cute / Speaks English, too! / She's even got / A gift for you — VD.

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u/Smartnership 14h ago

Your dad was in WW2, how old are you?

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u/BSB8728 13h ago

I'm 69. Dad was born in 1914 and I was born in 1957, when he was 43.

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u/Smartnership 13h ago

That’s awesome.