ENSA

Vera Lynn

Mary Berry, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Vera Lynn are just a few of the great “Dames” who are, and have been, distinguished by their achievements and their innate values of kindness, hard work and resilience as well as their wonderful talents. They have all contributed so much to the best moments of our lives and Highclere has been extremely lucky to have welcomed several of them on various weekends. They are also extremely generous in supporting charitable events.

Dame Vera Lynn came to Highclere to support us at an earlier fund-raising event and whilst she is no longer with us, she remains a symbol of the wartime spirit. She was a lovely lady, modest, gracious and very generous.

During World War II she was one of the most famous ENSA participants. ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association, was an organization established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel. Coincidentally, Leslie’s grandson is still in the entertainment business as television presenter Adam Henson.

Many outstanding actors, singers and performers signed up to ENSA including Laurence Oliver, Ralph Richardson, Noel Coward, Peter Sellers, Gracie Fields, Frankie Howard, Mantovani and the Western Brothers. In 1945, Olivier and Richardson embarked on a six-week tour, performing plays such as “Arms and the Man,” “Peer Gynt,” and “Richard III” – neither man ever forgot these experiences.

ENSA toured abroad as well as in Britain. Performances varied, some very good and others not quite so good and thus the organisation acquired another acronym: “Every Night Something Awful”.

Vera Lynn was greatly loved and became known as the ‘Force’s Sweetheart’. She was awarded the War Medal (1939 – 1945).  Wherever possible she always appeared at various charity shows and today her legacy continues by reputation and through recordings of her voice. She meant a huge amount to the men and women who both served and saved lives so far away.

Alex and Mendham and his band

No song more stirred our memories that her signature tune “We’ll Meet Again”.  Its promise of a reunion on “some sunny day” connected everyone separated by war and its phrase “keep smiling through” resonated from the home front to the front line.

The late Queen Elizabeth II referenced the song in an extraordinary TV address at the beginning of the covid lockdown – it reached the spirits of not just this nation but the world as well. Seeking to calm the country during the unprecedented restrictions, the Queen reminded us all that we “will meet again”.

Dame Vera Lynn

In 2005, on the 50th anniversary of VE-Day, Vera Lynn made a surprise appearance at a concert in Trafalgar Square at which she delivered a speech in which she praised and thanked British veterans of the Second World War. She called on the younger generation present at the concert to remember those sacrifices and, amazingly and movingly, closed with the opening bars of “We’ll Meet Again”.

She reminded her audience of those who had died or had been  wounded in wars today: “Those boys gave their lives and some came home badly injured, and for some families, life would never be the same. We should always remember, we should never forget and we should teach the children to remember.”

Weekend of Sept 6&7

Today, any successful event celebrating those who served in the war and all the many others who worked alongside them, is about combining historical touchstones and stories with entertainment.

This September at our “Weekend to Remember” event we hope to balance experiencing the history and the stories with music and dance and fun. The purpose is to thank those who serve and save today and to raise money for charities both here and abroad. It is about us giving back.