Few people know that during the Great War, British police officers helped keep the nation fed by working the land. Dr. Mary Fraser set out to change that with her publication The British Police and Home Food Production in the Great War, and we built a broadcast PR campaign around it for Local and Community History Month. We turned this little-known history into a story about officers' role in food security and their impact beyond law enforcement at a time of national crisis, and took it to radio and TV. The campaign secured 12 items of radio and TV coverage reaching 3.2 million people, including GB News, GB News Radio, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio WM.
12Items of coverage
3.2 millionCombined reach
1h 34mTime on air
Coverage highlights
GB NewsTV
GB News RadioNational radio
BBC Radio ScotlandBBC radio
BBC Radio WMBBC radio
BBC Radio MerseysideBBC radio
BBC Radio NottinghamBBC radio
BBC Radio StokeBBC radio
BBC Radio LeicesterBBC radio
BBC Radio DerbyBBC radio
BBC Radio ShropshireBBC radio
BBC Radio Coventry and WarwickshireBBC radio
BBC Radio Hereford and WorcesterBBC radio
Campaign video
The story
Dr. Mary Fraser
The campaign
Local & Community History Month
The aim
Many remain unaware of the vital role British police played in supporting national resilience during wartime. Dr. Mary Fraser sought to shed light on this through her publication The British Police and Home Food Production in the Great War: Police as Ploughmen, 1917–1918. The Relations Group helped amplify this little-known history during Local and Community History Month, using media outreach to highlight how officers contributed to food security by working the land, demonstrating their impact beyond law enforcement during times of national crisis.
The result
12 items of coverage reaching 3.2 million, including GB News, GB News Radio, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio WM.
Planning a broadcast PR campaign?
Talk to the team about radio and TV interviews for your brand, or for your clients if you run a PR agency.
