Entertainments National Service Association

The Entertainments National Service Association, commonly known as ENSA, was a British wartime organisation established in 1939 by theatre producer Basil Dean and entertainer Leslie Henson. Its purpose was to provide live entertainment and recreational performances for personnel serving in the British armed forces during the Second World War. Operating within the structure of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes, ENSA organised touring parties, concerts, variety bills and other shows for servicemen and women in Britain and in overseas theatres of war. ENSA was created at a time when maintaining morale was considered an important part of military administration. Its performers worked in conditions very different from those of conventional theatres. Companies travelled to airfields, naval facilities, army camps, hospitals and improvised venues, often performing with limited equipment and under difficult wartime conditions. The organisation drew on a broad cross-section of British entertainment, including singers, actors, comedians, musicians, dancers and variety performers. Among those associated with ENSA were Adelaide Hall, Gracie Fields, George Formby, Vera Lynn, Joyce Grenfell, Noël Coward, Laurence Olivier, Myra Hess, Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas and Kenneth Connor. One of ENSA's earliest major public events was a variety concert staged at RAF Hendon in north London on 17 October 1939. The programme was broadcast by the BBC to the British Empire and domestic listeners, and included Adelaide Hall, the Western Brothers and Mantovani. The event illustrated ENSA's dual role: it entertained military audiences directly while also symbolising a national cultural effort connected with the war. The organisation's reach was extensive, but its resources were spread over a large geographical area. Some performances were highly accomplished, while others were improvised or plainly modest. This unevenness produced the famous humorous reinterpretation of the acronym as “Every Night Something Awful,” a phrase that became part of ENSA's popular reputation without representing the quality of every show or performer. ENSA nevertheless supplied a substantial and visible service to British forces, particularly at a time when travel, communications and professional theatre operations were severely constrained. ENSA's work also involved genuine danger. Vivienne Hole, a 19-year-old civilian tap and acrobatic dancer who performed under the name Vivienne Fayre, was the only known ENSA member killed during the war. On 23 January 1945, while travelling between performances in Normandy in a truck carrying stage scenery, the vehicle entered a minefield. She was later buried with full military honours at Sittard War Cemetery. After the war, many ENSA performers continued successful careers in film, theatre, radio and television. In 1946, the organisation was renamed Combined Services Entertainment, or CSE. It continued under the Services Sound and Vision Corporation, later associated with the British Forces Broadcasting Service. On 2 March 2020, the corporation rebranded as BFBS, and CSE became BFBS Live Events. ENSA therefore survives primarily as a historical predecessor to later British Forces entertainment operations rather than as an active standalone organisation. Its legacy also appears in popular culture, including the films Love Story and Desert Mice, and in television fiction that depicts performers travelling with wartime troops.

ENSA was formed in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War, by theatre producer Basil Dean and entertainer Leslie Henson. The organisation was created to provide professional and semi-professional entertainment to members of the British armed forces. It operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes, the organisation responsible for a range of welfare and retail services for service personnel. Rather than functioning as a fixed theatre company, ENSA operated through touring units. Performers travelled to military establishments, naval bases, airfields, hospitals and temporary venues in Britain and abroad. The programmes reflected the breadth of British popular entertainment of the period: music, variety, comedy, drama, dance and celebrity appearances. The service was intended not only to occupy leisure time but also to sustain morale in circumstances marked by separation from home, military danger and long periods away from normal civilian life. A significant early event took place at RAF Hendon in north London on 17 October 1939. This variety concert was broadcast by the BBC to the Empire and to local networks. Adelaide Hall, the Western Brothers and Mantovani were among the performers. A surviving newsreel records Hall singing “We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line” with Mantovani and his orchestra. The broadcast helped present ENSA as part of the wider national wartime effort and demonstrated the importance of radio and filmed publicity in extending the reach of military entertainment. ENSA drew on many well-known performers. Its associated or participating entertainers included Gracie Fields, George Formby, Vera Lynn, Joyce Grenfell, Noël Coward, Laurence Olivier, Myra Hess, Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Kenneth Connor and numerous other actors, musicians, singers, comedians and variety artists. Some later became major figures in British film, stage, radio and television. The organisation also relied on less prominent performers and technical staff who undertook difficult journeys to reach audiences in operational areas. The service's extensive geographical responsibilities meant that standards and conditions varied. Some engagements featured prominent artists and substantial programmes; others were hastily arranged, poorly equipped or performed for small audiences in challenging locations. This led to the enduring joke that ENSA meant “Every Night Something Awful.” The phrase became a familiar cultural shorthand for uneven wartime entertainment, although it coexisted with recognition that many ENSA performers were highly skilled and that the organisation fulfilled a demanding logistical and welfare role. The dangers of touring were real. On 23 January 1945, Vivienne Hole, a 19-year-old civilian dancer using the stage name Vivienne Fayre, was travelling between shows in Normandy as a passenger in a truck carrying scenery. The truck entered a minefield, killing her. She was the only ENSA member identified in the historical account as having been killed during the war and was buried with full military honours at Sittard War Cemetery. In 1946, ENSA was renamed Combined Services Entertainment. The successor continued to provide entertainment for British service personnel under the wider Services Sound and Vision Corporation, which also operated broadcasting and related media services. On 2 March 2020, the corporation adopted the British Forces Broadcasting Service name, and Combined Services Entertainment was rebranded BFBS Live Events. This succession makes ENSA a historical predecessor of the current British Forces entertainment function rather than an active independent brand. ENSA has remained visible in popular culture. The 1944 film Love Story includes a fictional ENSA tour to North Africa and the Mediterranean, while the 1959 film Desert Mice depicts the imagined adventures of an ENSA troupe. The organisation has also appeared in television fiction. A surviving ENSA theatre at Hurst Castle retains wartime features, including its proscenium arch decoration and original curtains, providing a physical reminder of the touring entertainment network created during the war.

• 2020

  Successor service rebrands as BFBS Live Events

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The Services Sound and Vision Corporation becomes the British Forces Broadcasting Service, and Combined Services Entertainment becomes BFBS Live Events.

• 1959

  ENSA appears in Desert Mice

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The film Desert Mice fictionalises the wartime adventures of an ENSA troupe.

• 1946

  Renamed Combined Services Entertainment

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  ENSA is renamed Combined Services Entertainment and continues its military entertainment role within the successor corporate structure.

• 1944

  ENSA appears in Love Story

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation receives a fictional portrayal in the film Love Story, in which a concert pianist tours North Africa and the Mediterranean with ENSA.

• 1939

  ENSA is founded

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Basil Dean and Leslie Henson establish the Entertainments National Service Association to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during the Second World War.

• 1939

  First major ENSA broadcast concert

  [1]Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org

  A variety concert at RAF Hendon is broadcast by the BBC to the British Empire and local networks on 17 October.

A wartime live-entertainment service designed to support the morale and welfare of British armed forces personnel through touring performances in Britain and overseas.

• Live entertainment · 1939

  Wartime variety shows

  Touring programmes combining comedy, music, singing, dancing, drama and variety acts for British military audiences. Performances were staged in conventional theatres where available and in improvised venues at bases, camps, hospitals and other service facilities.

• Concerts and morale services · 1939

  Military concert tours

  ENSA organised mobile concert parties that travelled to British forces in the United Kingdom and overseas theatres. The tours could include recognised civilian entertainers as well as specialist musicians, actors and dancers, with programmes adapted to local conditions and available facilities.

• Military entertainment successor · 1946

  Combined Services Entertainment

  The postwar successor to ENSA continued organised entertainment for British service personnel under the Services Sound and Vision Corporation. It later became BFBS Live Events in 2020.

• 1939RAF Hendon broadcast concert

  United Kingdom · British Empire

  ENSA organised a major variety concert at RAF Hendon that was transmitted by the BBC to audiences in Britain and across the Empire. The programme included Adelaide Hall, the Western Brothers and Mantovani.

  Outcome. The broadcast publicised ENSA's wartime role and extended a military entertainment event to a much wider radio audience.

  Source

• 2020

  Successor operation is integrated into the BFBS identityStrategy

  Background

  The Services Sound and Vision Corporation updated its public identity around the British Forces Broadcasting Service.

  Action taken

  On 2 March 2020, the corporation rebranded as BFBS and Combined Services Entertainment became BFBS Live Events.

  Aftermath

  The ENSA and CSE names ceased to represent the active standalone service, while military live-event entertainment continued under BFBS Live Events.

  Source

• 1946

  Transition from ENSA to Combined Services EntertainmentStrategy

  Background

  The end of the Second World War changed the organisation's operating environment, but the need for entertainment services for British military personnel continued.

  Action taken

  ENSA was renamed Combined Services Entertainment and continued under the Services Sound and Vision Corporation.

  Aftermath

  The reorganisation preserved the service's core function and established the successor identity that ultimately led to BFBS Live Events.

  Source

1. 1Entertainments National Service Associationen.wikipedia.org