NAAFI in Theatre
As we all know, NAAFI is many things to many people. Listening to former staff speak about their life with NAAFI is as fascinating as it is unique, but maybe none are as unique as working for NAAFI during the War, where as well as providing ‘char and wad’ to the troops NAAFI were also the Armed Forces main source of entertainment!
The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was set up in 1939 by Basil Dean to provide entertainment for the British Armed Forces during World War II. Operating as part of NAAFI, who agreed to pay for the control and administration of ENSA through rebates of NAAFI sales, professional entertainment came to sit comfortably alongside the provision of food and comfort for the troops. Thousands of famous stars such as Vera Lynn, Tommy Trinder, George Formby and Gracie Fields gave performances under the ENSA banner over the years and by 1944 there were over 4,000 artistes on the NAAFI payroll. By the time the last ENSA concert was held in India on 18th August 1946 it is said that audiences totalled in excess of 500 million at a cost of £17 million.
Former ENSA member, Pat Carter recalls her time with the NAAFI Entertainment Branch where despite being at War, she looks back with fond memories:
“I spent 4 years with NAAFI and ENSA and have many happy memories of my days there. It all started when I was invited by Basil Dean to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in May 1942, where after a successful interview in his office backstage I was posted to the Garrison theatre in Ripon, Yorkshire. Here I trained as a projectionist so that each day and night there were classified training films and varied terrestrial programmes shown to the troops.
“As well as the film entertainment there were often ‘Live’ shows on stage, normally twice a week, of which stage lighting was required by the celebrities! After passing my exams, I was posted up and down the country with NAAFI/ENSA, with many postings lasting for at least six months. At first we often travelled to the camps on our own resources and in some cases had to find our own accommodation. However as things got better NAAFI, via the War Office, requisitioned a number of mansions and lovely buildings for our living quarters and it was here that we got to know many of the stage artists. It was great fun!”
Whilst Pat got to mingle with some of our greatest post-war performers during her time with NAAFI and ENSA, it wasn’t all showbiz and glitz, especially when she was assigned to Newquay:
“Our worst (or should I say my worst experience) was travelling all night on a train down to Newquay with hundreds of evacuees sitting on a case in the Guards van for comfort. As we were situated on Newquay’s coastline we were a good target for the German’s and there was a blitz on camp virtually every night; most of the time we had to sit it out in the theatre!”
Following her exams in Ripon, Pat was posted to Devizes, Wiltshire for more electrical training and then Deepcut, Surrey before being seconded to the Army once more:
“My sixth and final posting took me to RAF Calveley, Cheshire where I managed the entire theatre from making up the films in the right sequence to advertising slides (now obsolete) and stage performances. I was also responsible for admission tickets “6d (2 ½ pence)”, counting the takings and then making sure they were cashed in at the bank. There were thousands of troops through the doors each night keeping us busy but it was a great experience!”
What ENSA meant to those men and women who were living and fighting in such gruelling conditions is often difficult to encapsulate, but when the curtain finally came down on ENSA it certainly left a lasting impression on Pat and the rest of the ENSA workers:
“The theatre closed and that was it; the War was over. Going back to civilian life was difficult as we had become so used to having lots of people and crowds around us; the peace and quiet was strange. Our job was unique and we made many friends that have remained through the years – two of which I am still very good friends with today.”
