Entertainments National Service Association
Encyclopedia
The Entertainments National Service Association or 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
. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
. It was superseded by Combined Services Entertainment
(CSE) which now operates as part of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation
(SSVC).
, George Formby, Wilfred Brambell, Joyce Grenfell
, Paul Scofield
and Rebecca Cantwell.
During 1945, actors Laurence Olivier
and Sir Ralph Richardson
were created honorary army Lieutenants in ENSA. They performed Shakespeare's plays for the troops in a six week tour of Europe.
Chaos Supersedes ENSA, a mini-series (1980), was written and directed by Patrick Garland
for Thames Television.
The television sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum
concerned the misadventures of a group of soldiers providing entertainment for an army barracks in India
. These were known as the Concert Party
and were not ENSA members per se.
ENSA also featured in the television sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart
, in the episode "How I Won The War".
The only known ENSA theatre to have survived in its original condition is the Garrison Theatre at Hurst Castle in the New Forest National Park. Created by servicemen in 1939, the proscenium arch still bears the badge and grenades of the Royal Artillery, and the curtains still hang from an old galvanised gas pipe. Shows are presented from time to time by the Friends of Hurst Castle.
In the Are You Being Served?
episode entitled "Camping In", Mr. Grainger told a story of being a member of ENSA which Mr. Humphries said stood for "Every Night Something awful 'Appens".
In the popular BBC
sitcom Dad's Army
episode "Museum Piece
", ENSA are revealed to be using the rifles Captain Mainwaring so desperately seeks.
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
and Leslie Henson
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families...
. It was superseded by Combined Services Entertainment
Combined Services Entertainment
The Combined Services Entertainment is the live entertainment arm of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation , a registered British charity. It is the official provider of live entertainment to the British Armed Forces. CSE routinely sends tours of entertainment to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Oman, the...
(CSE) which now operates as part of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation
Services Sound and Vision Corporation
The Services Sound and Vision Corporation is a British registered charity. Set up in the 1980s to "entertain and inform Britain's Armed Forces around the world", its activities include the British Forces Broadcasting Service with its radio and television operations, SSVC Cinemas, the British...
(SSVC).
Members
Many well-known stars have performed in ENSA, including Gracie FieldsGracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
, George Formby, Wilfred Brambell, Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
, Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
and Rebecca Cantwell.
During 1945, actors Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Sir Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
were created honorary army Lieutenants in ENSA. They performed Shakespeare's plays for the troops in a six week tour of Europe.
In popular culture
Despite many extremely talented entertainers and movie stars, past and future, working for ENSA, the organisation was necessarily spread thin over the vast area it had to cover. Thus many entertainments were substandard, and the popular translation of the acronym ENSA was "Every Night Something Awful".Chaos Supersedes ENSA, a mini-series (1980), was written and directed by Patrick Garland
Patrick Garland
thumb|right|200pxPatrick Garland is a British actor, writer, and director.Garland started Poetry International in 1963 with Ted Hughes and Charles Osborne. He was a director and producer for the BBC's Music and Arts Department , and worked on its Monitor series...
for Thames Television.
The television sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a British sitcom about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party, broadcast on the BBC between 1974 and 1981, and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army...
concerned the misadventures of a group of soldiers providing entertainment for an army barracks in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. These were known as the Concert Party
Concert Party (entertainment)
A concert party, also called a Pierrot troupe, is the collective name for a group of entertainers, or Pierrots, popular in Britain during the first half of the 20th century. The variety show given by a Pierrot troupe was called a Pierrot show...
and were not ENSA members per se.
ENSA also featured in the television sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight Sweetheart is a sitcom that ran for six series on BBC1 from 1993 to 1999. It stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as Gary Sparrow, an accidental time traveller who leads a double life after discovering a time portal allowing him to travel between the London of the 1990s and the same area during the...
, in the episode "How I Won The War".
The only known ENSA theatre to have survived in its original condition is the Garrison Theatre at Hurst Castle in the New Forest National Park. Created by servicemen in 1939, the proscenium arch still bears the badge and grenades of the Royal Artillery, and the curtains still hang from an old galvanised gas pipe. Shows are presented from time to time by the Friends of Hurst Castle.
In the Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
episode entitled "Camping In", Mr. Grainger told a story of being a member of ENSA which Mr. Humphries said stood for "Every Night Something awful 'Appens".
In the popular BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
episode "Museum Piece
Museum Piece
Museum Piece is the second episode in the first series of the British comedy series Dad's Army, originally transmitted on Wednesday 7 August 1968.-Cast:...
", ENSA are revealed to be using the rifles Captain Mainwaring so desperately seeks.