Saturday June 8th, 1918
Rose late. We are being relieved today. Rotten luck, just like our mob. Very hot. Left camp for Battalion 3:30 in motor tender. I had a walk at night. Three letters from home & little girl’s photo. Abram in King’s Liverpools – sorry. Down to it 9pm.
Relieved?
Frank has obviously been enjoying his stint with the 27th Kite Balloon Section. Today he reports that the guard is being relieved today and, for the first time in six months, he doesn’t think this is a good thing, instead calling it ‘rotten luck’.
Entertainment for the Officers
Today the Battalion’s Diary reports a gala performance of ‘The Chocolate Soldier’ that was ‘thoroughly appreciated’. It was a popular operetta composed by Oscar Straus. Its original libretto was in German and based upon George Bernard Shaw’s play ‘Arms and the Man’. Following its success, an English-language version was developed that had long runs both on Broadway and in London in 1909. It had also been made into at least one movie.
Despite this popularity, apparently Shaw so disliked ‘The Chocolate Soldier’ that he subsequently resisted all early attempts to set his play ‘Pygmalion’ to music. Clearly the audience in Salonika did not share his opinion.
Entertainment for the Troops
We have heard a lot about the importance of entertainment and concert parties to maintaining the morale of the troops. The elite entertainers were those at Divisional level. These companies would hold auditions for roles and their members were highly prized and trained. In various articles, the Clickety Clicks have been identified as both the concert party of the 22nd Division and here, as that belonging to the 66th Brigade.² In either event, they were quite famous and very well regarded.
The photograph shows a concert party of the 8th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers performing in an open air theatre in Salonika in April 1916.*
Songs were the staple fare of the concert party, particularly those with choruses where the troops could join in. A good female impersonator was also highly prized (to the extent that, at least once, this led to a ‘kidnapping’).³
Whether opting for high or low brow entertainment – it sounds like all tastes were well catered for here.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 8th June 1918 – La Marraine
Second day of Horse Show. The Show was a complete success, the smartness of the Battalion’s Guard of Honour was commented upon by many of the visitors. A Gala performance of the ‘Chocolate Soldier’ at the Divisional Frivolity Theatre was thoroughly appreciated. The 66th Brigade Concert Party, the ‘Clickety Clicks’ catered for the men, working?? in two performances nightly to give every man a chance to attend. From the 7th June the ?? two Infantry Base Depots will be amalgamated into one which will be known as the Infantry Base Depot.
References & Further Reading
¹ The Chocolate Soldier in Wikipedia
² Divisional Concert Parties discussion thread on the Great War Forum
³ War Culture – WWI Theatre on Military History Monthly
* Q 31860 copyright The Imperial War Museums