ENSA

Established in 1939, The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was created to entertain the British troops during World War Two. It brought together professional and amateur performers to perform in munitions factories, garrison theatres and in bomb-damaged buildings across Europe.

It featured performances from many of most loved entertainers of the day, including Vera Lynn, Tommy Cooper, Arthur Askey and George Formby. Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir Laurence Olivier were both made honorary lieutenants of the Army in 1945 when they they performed Shakespeare's plays for the troops in a six-week tour of Europe.