Concert parties

The concept of a "Concert Party"

According to Wikipedia[1], a concert party is the collective name for a group of entertainers popular in Britain during the first half of the 20th century, functioning as travelling shows of songs and comedy, often put on at the seaside and opening with a Pierrot[2] number.

The tradition lasted from the 1890s until the 1950s, and similar concert parties were formed by several countries' armed forces during the First and Second World Wars. For example, during the Second World War, the British Armed Forces' concert party became known as the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), later succeeded by the Combined Services Entertainment (CSE). In South Africa the tradition, initiated inter alia by the South African Women's Auxilliary Services , led to the formation of the Union Defence Force Entertainment Unit in 1940 under the leadership of Major Myles Bourke.

As other forms of entertainment (particularly television) replaced variety shows in general, concert parties largely died out during the 1950s.

Concert parties in South Africa

During the early years of the World War II the South African Women's Auxilliary Services (SAWAS)[3] organised voluntary "concert parties" and other forms of entertainment at the various military camps in the Union. From this came the idea of having a formally organised entertainment unit for the Union Defence Force (UDF)[4]. According to Swift (1974) this was first suggested by a Colonel G. Newman, who felt that entertainment was a vital necessity in the battle against boredom which inevitably existed in military camps in the Union. Having found approval from Field Marshal Smuts, they appointed Major Myles Bourke, the founder of the Pretoria Repertory Theatre and a well known amateur actor, as the Chief Entertainment Officer for the UDF in 1940.