ENSA – Entertainments National Service Association

ENSA
ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) was established in 1939 and set up by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for the British military during WW2 Many famous stars performed for ENSA including Arthur Askey, Gracie Fields, Vera Lynn, George Formby, Tommy Cooper and Joyce Grenfell. In 1945 after being made honorary lieutenants of the British Army, Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir Ralph Richardson joined ENSA and during a six-week tour of Europe performed plays by William Shakespeare.

Those who performed were paid £10 a week and for those who were in the chorus , £4 a week. By the standards of the time these were generous amounts of money.

The first ENSA concert was in Surrey on 10 September 1939 and the last performance was in India on August 18th 1946.