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Toñi N.

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Marlene Dietrich - Lili Marlene Original Song !

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Marlene Dietrich - Lili Marlene Original Song !

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I find it interesting the fact that people decided to stay at the theatre during the raids. Also, it was curious the story about the actor that was not allowed to go home during the bombing because he was under contract and he had to play even thought the situation was not normal. I would summarize it with the saying “The show must go on"

Life must continue, it is instinctive. Human being and the whole living organisms tend to adapt to survive. It may sound hard, but we get use to our reality and we are able to change to survive and live in extreme conditions. Katherine V.

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The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson  to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II.

They went to all the places where  they  were needed. Jean Batcham –who had to do war work, night work, in the navy blue silk parachutes for the RAF-, said that they used to have the ENSA show at midnight. "It was good entertainmen,… they’d come marching on and sing all the latest songs, and they’d all join in".
p.22
Ana Mo.R.

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It seems logical that a country at war keeps its citizens informed through the media and that the population needs ways to evade reality for a while in order to be able to maintain the force to continue the crude reality that they were living.

Eva MB

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It's really fascinating that the people continued having a social  life in the middle of the war. I was really surprised when I read that the performers and the audience keep going even if there was a raid. This really shows how important for the human is to have fun and be happy.
Carmen G

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I deeply admire Patricia's strength. She never gave up.It was really important that people could be entertained in such a difficult time

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I deeply admire Patricia's strength. She never gave up.It was really important that people could be entertained in such a difficult time

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LOLA.G.G.

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This work may seem less important than any other. But when it comes down to it, I think it was very important. Entertaining people in times of war, when many people were and felt alone, was a gesture to be admired. For many people it made that time more enjoyable.

Irene T.

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Sometimes we listen to songs like Lili Marleen without knowing the true meaning, (in Spain, this song was famous when it was sung by Marta Sánchez).
Mario C.

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As you can find in  the advert on page 38 inside  Patrice Graves's contribution, the theatre announced: "All we will ask is that if you feel you must go, you will depart quietly and without excitement." It was amazing how they could control their feelings.
Curra L.

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There were different ways to keep people busy during the war, for example: the radio, the theatre, the music.. I had never heard this songs and they are kind of peculiar.

Ana M. de H.

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People were frightened but they were alive too.  Mrs. Smith tells us a funny anecdote about how people tried to have a social life.  She and  other boys and girls were dancing  and singing in the street while the bombs were falling, under the fire and shrapnel.
Isabel G.

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As Mrs. Smith recalls on page 45, social life was difficult during the war. All cinemas and theatres were closed to start off with. They opened up a few months later. She remembers her Mum and she going into London to see " Gone With The Wind".
Elena L.

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I had already had the opportunity to read about the role that some women artists developed during the Second World War, taking advantage of their enormous influence. Among all of them, Hedy Lamarr was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding for having contributed to the invention of the first version of the spread spectrum that would allow long distance wireless communications.

D. Serrano

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I find lovely the show business during WWII because they knew people needed to keep their minds busy without thinking about the disaster of the war, and they achieved that essential goal, at least during the show time. All of us know how music can involve our mind and improve our feelings, and because of that musicians managed to cheer up and motivate a society in the middle of an awful period.

CARLOS T.

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Show business was also an important part of war work. People needed to have some entertainment and forget, as much as posible, the awful sistuation they were going through. According to the book's accounts, there were concerts, even in factory canteens, touring theatre groups, cinemas... Besides, all these kinds of shows (songs, plays, films, etc.) could  be useful to encourage people  through the message they carried.
Trini M.

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It is an obvious fact that radio was the most important means of communication between soldiers and their families.

Vera Lynn in Britain, the Andrews sisters and Hedy Lamar in The United States, were an exemple of how show business worked to encourage both civilians and  frontline troops during World War II.

Ángeles R.

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It caught my attention that the audience stayed in the theatres  in spite of the air raids. I reckon that people got used to living with these attacks. Moreover, I believe that they should be quite annoyed to have to wear gas masks while the play  was being performed.

Celia T.

It was only the children who had to wear gas masks at the matinee (remember that this anecdote told by Patricia refers to the first days of the war).
Marta

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In the book, What did you do in the war, mum?  

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In the book, What did you do in the war, mum?  

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Patricia Graves tells us:
At the time war broke out, I had my own little touring repertory company. When war was declared, we were due to play in a place called Lyndale on the Yorkshire coast. suddenly, all the theatres were shut. I had a company of seven to eight people, men and women, just ordinary actors and actresses  earning their living on a non-stop engagement.
Loli R.

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After reading the book what did you in the war, mun ?, the role played by theater, cinema and music was of vital importance for all workers, men and women. From my point of view, going to this type of show made them forget for a moment that they were at war.
Noelia G.

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CHALLENGE #7 What type of entertainment did the workers have at the factory where Marie Maberley worked?

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CHALLENGE #7 What type of entertainment did the workers have at the factory where Marie Maberley worked?

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They used to get concerts in the factory, every two or three months. Thered be comics, and singing, and sketches about Hitler. He was quite a character to imitate.
Elena R.

Marie Maberley worked in a factory in South Wimbledom. They had a massive canteen there and they used to get concerts in it and there'd be comics, and singing, and sketches about Hitler.
Belén M.

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Artists like Vera Lynn served as a way of escape for the citizens to forget the war horrors. Radio programs, go dancing or the cinema entertained to the suffering population.
Vicente E.

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In times of war we cannot forget about information and entertainment. Although women like Vera Lynn or Lili Marleen made the war a little less sad, I think women had the courage to do the same jobs as men.
Pedro C.

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I was surprised that singers didn't wear sexy dresses in their performances.

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I was surprised that singers didn't wear sexy dresses in their performances.

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Montse S.

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We already know that the first steps of the media were to control the minds of the population. But perhaps the best part was that something necessary was created in those times: the human and romantic part about what really matters in the life through movies or mythical songs like Vera Lynn's 'We will meet again'.

Juan V

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CHALLENGE #1 What did Patricia Graves tell the members of her theatre company when the war broke out?

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CHALLENGE #1 What did Patricia Graves tell the members of her theatre company when the war broke out?

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"Stand by for a fortnight and I'll guarantee your money, because I think that the country can't do without live entertainment"
Alberto S.

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CHALLENGE #6 Who went to see "Gone With The Wind" with her mother the night after a big incendiary raid? It took her four hours to get to the cinema!

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CHALLENGE #6 Who went to see "Gone With The Wind" with her mother the night after a big incendiary raid? It took her four hours to get to the cinema!

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Mrs Smith went with her mother to see this movie at the cinema. The way to the cinema was awful but they tried to have  as much fun as they could.
Carmen G.

Mrs Smith remembers her mother and she going into London to see "Gone with the Wind", and she does not know how they got there because there hd been a big incendiary raid the night before. It took them four hours to get to the cinema because from Woolwich to Charing Cross it was all criss-cross with burning building, hoses, fire engines, the lot.
Loli R.

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And I wonder: why were there always girls who sang for soldiers?Is it that there were no male singers? Currently it happens the same. I remember when Marta Sanchez sang to the soldiers who were in the Gulf War. The same patterns are still repeating .We do not evolve.
Leli S.

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CHALLENG #2 What did Patricia do to the windows of the Town Hall so that her company could perform there? Why?

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CHALLENG #2 What did Patricia do to the windows of the Town Hall so that her company could perform there? Why?

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She covered the windows because the reflection of the glass could alert the enemy.
Montse S.
"Blackout the windows" in order not to be a target during air raids.
Alberto S.

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CHALLENGE #3 What did the children have to wear if they wanted to see Patricia's matinee show?

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CHALLENGE #3 What did the children have to wear if they wanted to see Patricia's matinee show?

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The children had to carry gas masks. The hall was not visible from outside, probably it was underground.
Montse S.

No, it was not visible from the outside because all the windows had been covered or "blacked out".
Marta

Everybody must carry a gas mask.
When you read the book, you realise people were used to going  everywhere with the gas mask.
Personally, that casualness seems crazy to me. Could you imagine taking one to the cinema nowadays?
Alberto S.

People did this just in the early days of the war, when they thought that the Germans would use chemical weapons to attack them.
Marta

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CHALLENGE #4 What happened if there was a raid in the middle of a show?

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CHALLENGE #4 What happened if there was a raid in the middle of a show?

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The manager used to go in front of the curtain and say to the audience:  “You can go home if your homes are near enough to reach them in safety, or you can stay here. We shall continue the show if anyone wants to stay here and be entertained”
Surprisingly, nine times out of ten, the audience stayed there.
Alberto S.

They continued with the show but asked their audience if they preferred to go to their homes.
Montse S.

Being in the Midlands they were having nightly raids. The manager used to go in front of the curtain when a raid started and say to the audience that they could go home or they could stay there. The actors would continue the show if anyone wanted to stay there and be entertained.
Susana R.

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CHALLENGE #5 What does Patricia consider her war work?

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CHALLENGE #5 What does Patricia consider her war work?

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She considers playing many men’s parts her war effort.

She enjoyed that as a great experience, using her big voice and being very meticulous with her wardrobe. She was able to convince the audience, even in loves scenes.
Alberto S.