Greasepaint and Cordite by Andy Merriman

Greasepaint and Cordite by Andy Merriman

'Casts a revealing light on its starry cast'

'Affectionate and admiring history.'

 ‘This book has many stories in which the importance of entertainment shines through.’

  ‘ This book has many stories in which the importance of entertainment shines through.’

'Merriman's colourful book aims to rebalance attitudes to the association through anecdotal evidence, first-hand accounts from surviving participants and by sketching in the wider historical context. Ensa was a heroic enterprise even if it was often ramshackle in organisation and erratic in its execution. Then again so as everything else at the time. After all there was a war on.'

'The story of how ENSA lifted the morale of our troops during the Second World War, often putting themselves in some danger, not least in the Far East.'

‘ A delightful tale’

'Affectionate and admiring history.'

'Casts a revealing light on its starry cast.'

Andy Merriman is the author of several books, including Greasepaint and Cordite, the story of the young entertainers sent out to war to dance and sing, Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners, Hattie, the authorised biography of Hattie Jacques, and A Minor Adjustment, a book about his daughter who has Down’s syndrome. Andy, who writes for radio and television, lives in London with his wife and three children.