Tuesday, Xmas Day, Dec 25th, 1917
A Merry Xmas almost an insult. Sour bread and awful butter for breakfast. Hope to have a better dinner. Lovely morning. Good dinner – Xmas pudding, jam, tea. Good concert at night.
The Concert Party
Early in the war, Lena Ashwell petitioned very hard for professional entertainers to be allowed to perform for the troops. Unfortunately, there was significant resistance in the War Office, partly because the acting profession was thought to be rather amoral. The idea was only accepted when Princess Helena Victoria, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and president of the Women’s Auxiliary Committee of the YMCA, intervened. She suggested that such concert parties would be good for morale. With her backing and support, the objections were overcome. Miss Ashwell and the Princess were vindicated and the concert parties proved incredibly popular.
Professional musicians, actors and entertainers were keen to do their bit during the war. Concert groups, including Miss Ashwell’s, toured not only the Western Front but also visited Malta and Egypt. Even Ivor Novello¹ sang his own composition ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’ on the Western Front to great acclaim before joining up in 1916.²
This and other forms of entertainment became recognized as a great morale booster for the troops. They provided a reminder of home and helped to counteract boredom. The venues were typically depots, rest camps, hospitals and YMCA canteen huts.
Onboard the Kashmir
Not all entertainment was provided by professionals. It is likely that the concert entertainers on board HMS Kashmir were drawn from amongst the ship’s crew and the troops being transported to Salonika. Typically concerts would comprise comedians, singers and other musicians. Some of the most popular entertainments were familiar songs where the audience could join in the chorus.
Good food and good cheer clearly meant that Frank enjoyed Christmas Day, even though he was thousands of miles from home.
References & further reading:
¹ Ivor Novello, Wikipedia
² ‘Fighting on the Home Front, the Legacy of Women in WWI’ by Kate Adie (reference to Ivor Novello at location 3489 on Kindle and to Lena Ashwell at location 3451)
^ Ashwell, Lena, 1871-1957. Photograph by Alexander Bassano (1829-1913) on Wikipedia
* WWI Theatre‘, Military History Monthly
‘Wartime Leisure and Entertainment‘, Imperial War Museum