Today marks 35 years since Iraq invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War. I was in Kuwait and just 11 years old when I woke up that morning to find out what had happened. We had just finished celebrating my younger brother’s birthday the night before, so it took a while for me to grasp how much life was about to change.
My family stayed in Kuwait for six weeks before fleeing by road to Lebanon, where I lived until the war ended and we moved back to Kuwait in the summer of 1991. Although I was young, I have vivid memories from that time, mostly tied to the media, from CNN’s Operation Desert Storm coverage to the “FREE KUWAIT” and later “Free Our POWs” campaigns, and even small things like anti Saddam car bumper stickers.
I remember as a kid desperately wanting a “FREE KUWAIT” badge or t-shirt. It was such a strong and meaningful visual that, 35 years later, it’s still a powerful image.
The “FREE KUWAIT” logo was designed by Michael Lorrigan with the help of the British design firm Bostock & Pollitt (now called Pollitt & Partners). Michael, who was a teacher and deputy headmaster at New English School at the time, was in England on summer break when the invasion happened. After the war broke out, he discovered the newly formed Kuwaiti media committee in London and joined them, eventually becoming one of their most dedicated members. The name “Free Kuwait Campaign” was chosen as a unifying label for various London-based groups supporting Kuwait during the invasion. When Michael shared the sample logos with the campaign group, a member called Ali Al Mulaifi suggested making the word “FREE” larger than “KUWAIT.” That became the final version. source
There is actually a great interview you can watch (it’s in Arabic) that details Michaels role in the Free Kuwait campaign which you can watch here.
The photos in this post were all taken in London by Dr. Adel Al-Yousifi. They are part of his photo-book “A Testimony from London” and are also available online at his website, free-kuwait.net. Dr. Adel also created the website evidence-kw.net, which documents the impact of the war on Kuwait and is based on another photo-book he published in 1994.
3 replies on “Michael Lorrigan and the Story Behind the Free Kuwait Logo”
Thanks for sharing this story. I didn’t know the history behind that image.
We all still have vivid memories of the time. Remember mum and dad returning home a little after midnight from dinner at their favourite haunt near the Waterfront – the tented Mais Alghanim of the day. Shortly before they proceeded home that night they thought to check on Sultan Centre for some essential supplies that they had needed (and totally oblivious of what was going on at the airport and near the border with Iraq). They were in for a mega surprise. Markaz Sultan had the look and feel of a Shop till You Drop shopping festival with shoppers filling their trolleys to capacity that my parents then decided to abandon their bout of midnight shopping. The morning would tell of a different story- when we had all to seek cover inside a closet as the building we called home came in the flight path of a low flying aircraft even as we thought it was getting bombed. Exactly 21 days later, we fled Kuwait for Jordan via Iraq. Those 9 months, everyone that was interested in seeing Kuwait free was on ventilator. Life resumed for us in Al Khobar but Saudi was no Kuwait and nothing ever felt the same until we returned to Kuwait in April 1991. Everything from before and after was now different to exist with the physics of change.
Thank you for this