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Foo was here is an Australian graffiti signature of popular culture, especially known for its use during World War Two, but also became popular amongst Australian schoolchildren of post-war generations.

Foo is shown as a bald headed man (sometimes depicted with a few hairs) peering over a wall (usually with the fingers of both hands appearing to clutch over the wall as well), with the simple inscription "Foo was here".

Origins

While its exact origins are unknown, the "Foo was here" graffiti is said to have been widely used by Australians during World War One, and was later also widely used during World War Two.

One source says of Foo that "He was chalked on the side of railway carriages, appeared in probably every camp that the 1st AIF served in and generally made his presence felt". If this is the case, then "Foo was here" pre-dates the American version of World War Two by about twenty years.

It has been claimed that FOO probably came from the acronym for Forward Observation Officer, but this is likely to be a backronym.

American version

Another version of this grafitti signature is "Kilroy was here", with its origin in the USA during World War Two.

Other versions

There was a Canadian version named "Clem", and - in the late 1960s - there was a version called "Overby" in the city of Los Angeles.

The British version was usually called Chad or Mr Chad.

• Popular culture
• Australian culture
• Graffiti and unauthorised signage