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Entertainment

Every soldier will agree that any attempt to put down in words the story of how the men in a battalion filled in their leisure hours must give only a hazy and insufficient picture. It is easy to describe the concerts, the picture shows, community sings and organised trips. But for the men who served in the Pacific (perhaps more so for them than for those elsewhere in the world) entertainment in off-duty hours was largely of their own making. There would be the small group who sat in the evening air on the shore at Suvavou, Fiji, listening to a few happy Fijians chanting quietly down the road; or one of them might be on his back playing a mouth-organ while the others smoked and listened.

In Nausori, perhaps, one would pause while walking up the little street and marvel at the weird discords of an Indian gramophone record. The same man in Tongatabu might entertain his tent-mates for half-an-hour with tales of deer-stalking in the country back of Whakatane, and then they would sit and watch the fire-flies dancing lazily in the air. There would be the entertainment from the man who inevitably sang under the showers, or the professional joke-maker who repeated the latest 'shaggy-dog' stories, or gathered around him the little group of compatriots who derived their amusement from salacious anecdotes. A man chose his friends deliberately; for there were many months of weary tropical duty ahead, in which one relied on the company of these friends to fill in the long evenings.

So let us remember that the hours of mutual comradeship, the hours we spent simply sitting with our friends, enjoying their company, their speech, and their conduct, according to our respective tastes, provided the basis of our entertainment. A soldier learns to be satisfied with a little and to derive pleasure out of simple things. It has to be like that, for more often than not, he relies for his pleasure and entertainment simply on the company of his fellows.

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In the early days in Fiji there were few facilities at Samambula for organised entertainment. Taxis, by the score, could rush a man into Suva for three shillings (the price varied) where he could choose between two picture theatres, a variety of kava saloons, or the less expensive habit of poring through the junk shops. In June 1941 the opening of the New Zealand Club, on the Suva waterfront, was a timely event, and it served as a welcome haven to thousands of troops from that time onward. The generous work of local residents in staffing the Club was deeply appreciated. Back in camp, there were a number of concerts organised—in the training battalion days, by Lieutenant J. Osborne, and later by small committees on which Padre Liggett was a leading light. The padre, incidentally, gave many a delightful hour at the piano in the Ymca, which, opening in B camp, was a popular meeting ground and recreation centre.

Companies frequently ran their own concerts. Particularly successful were ones at Ballantine's School, and the headquarter's company show at Samambula where Colonel Voelcker brought down the house with his song 'And What Did You Do In The Great War, Daddy?' The Samambula theatre showed its first film in January 1942. The programmes there were always popular, if not always up-to-date. Excursions away from camp to Levuka, Sawani School, Queen Victoria College, and visits to private homes in Suva, Nausori and the Tailevu district introduced us to the warm hospitality of the Fiji people, both European and native. The story of entertainment in Samambula days would not be complete without a reminder of those nights when, after lights out, the sweet strains of 'Toss' Brown's violin would be the last sounds drifting across the camp.

With the move out to Nausori we were largely cut off from the glittering attractions of Suva's theatres and milk bars, and so were the more obliged to produce our own entertainment. Companies formed separate committees, some of which operated most enthusiastically, organising card evenings, sing-songs, and sometimes wrestling tournaments, to fill in the hours. Outstanding, however, were the efforts of Second-Lieutenant Maxwell and Padre Liggett who turned their knowledge of the screen and the stage to good account by taking over the ramshackle Nausori picture theatre, and showing several films there every week. The pictures were not exactly direct from Hollywood and Elstree, and occasionally broke down, to the immense good-humoured derision of the audience. Before each show page 103started, furious battles would rage between members of the audience, the combatants using peanuts as projectiles. Natives were allowed to occupy the front seats in the stalls where they kept up a constant barrage of cheering the hero, hissing the villain, or simply laughing, just for the pleasure of it.

Discussion groups and accountancy classes were formed, while several debates catered for the orators of the battalion, one interesting conclusion being that women are too pampered in these stern days of the 20th century. There was the series of talks in the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's library on 'My job after the war', where one could learn from fellow soldiers how to make a success of business (proved by Lieutenant Dearsley) and how to wield the school strap over (a) primary schoolchildren (Lieutenant Kirk) and (b) secondary schoolchildren (Captain Braithwaite). There was no Ymca or recreation centre at Nausori, so cafes and milk bars in the township enjoyed good custom before being placed out of bounds. Launch trips on the Rewa River, excursions to Levuka, and entertainment from private residents all played their part in providing men of the battalion with rest and relaxation.

The 34th witnessed the first performance of the newly-formed 8th Brigade concert party, which throughout the rest of the life of the brigade provided regular cheerful programmes of high order. The Baker Memorial Hall, in the mission area, Nausori, was the setting for this first show on 5 June, when several men of the battalion themselves performed as members of the concert party. A number of local residents were present in the audience on invitation from battalion headquarters. Lastly, to mention the divisional band though to say 'lastly' is to place it far from the position it held in our estimation. Always close attuned to the music that the troops liked to hear, the divisional band gave us many programmes of light classics, marches, extracts from opera and musical comedy, and the occasional swing. Certainly no other unit in all the Pacific Force enjoyed the same esteem and affection of the men, as did the Band.

On returning home, and before going overseas again, the battalion had little opportunity, or need, of arranging entertainment in Man urewa or Hilldene camps. They were desolate places, and cold. If one had no friends to visit in Auckland, then bed was the best place on those bitter evenings. Patriotic huts were erected in both 'camps, rather tardily, and were deservedly popular. These recreational institutions certainly do fill a prominent place in camp life page 104and go a long way towards preserving morale and good spirits. The local people of Manurewa, and also Papakura, were very helpful, dances and socials being arranged in both towns, and well attended.

Concerts and pictures, hula-hulas, and cups of tea at the Ymca—probably this encompasses all the entertainment that was available in organised form while the battalion was serving in the Kingdom of Tonga. We came to know the open-air picture theatre, with the screen suspended from two palm trees, where we could sit on logs watching the fireflies until the film started. It often rained, and the films often broke. These were theatres erected by the Americans for their own men and we appreciated their consideration in allowing us the free use of them. It was another example of the happy relations that existed between the two forces on Tongatabu.

There were several battalion concerts, into which was thrown the organising zeal of Sergeant-Major G. A. Ross, Sergeant G. W. Melvin, Private S. J. Carroll and several other stalwarts. One followed the sports meeting on 31 December, and was combined with a dance on the grassy area at the back of Mua Camp. Companies also staged their own concerts, of which the most notable was at Kolonga late in January. Mr. Hugh Nees, our Ymca secretary, was a popular figure, presiding over his main marquee at Mua and his branch offices at the other areas, with much good humour and efficiency. He was largely responsible for introducing to the battalion the game of American basketball, which gained a big following.

Once back with the division, we were able to enjoy the facilities for entertainment that had been missed while in Tongatabu. The divisional band, for instance, paid us several visits, with excellent programmers, and once again the 8th Brigade concert party took the stage, putting on two fine shows at Bouloupari, despite the ravages of the mosquito which made every evening a torment. We had been sorry to leave Mr. Nees behind in Tongatabu. For a while then we were without a recreation centre of any kind. However Padre W. St. A. Osbourne-Brown made a small study room which served in some measure to improve things; and then, with the arrival of Mr. Pat Parker, the new Ymca secretary, and Padre J. D. Froud, a start was made on a substantial hut, in the remains of the old ration store. Companies had their own rooms also, staging card evenings, small concerts and entertainments for their own benefit. The honest game of 'housie' never lacked support, and most companies held regular housie evenings. One battalion concert was presented,page 105 just before our departure for Guadalcanal. Trucks were used several nights of the week to convey men to the pictures—either at 8th Brigade Headquarters, or at an American camp some miles to the south. Here, too, we saw the first of the American USO shows with which we later became familiar—bands of four or five entertainers, each an outstanding performer in his own line.

Save for the pictures, and one or two USO shows at nearby camps, there was no entertainment on Guadalcanal. We built a theatre in our own area, to which visitors from other camps would come, New Zealand and American, just as, when we were not showing pictures, we would walk or ride to their camps to see what was on there.

It was singular that in the Treasury Islands, far-flung little British outpost near the equator, we enjoyed more entertainment than at any previous time in our history. This was partly due to the vital necessity of combating the hardships of climate and environment, and the knowledge that we must go to more than usual lengths to amuse ourselves. Once again the staple form of entertainment was the film. At Malsi we carved out a theatre, with seating accommodation for upwards of 600, and with a stage large enough for visiting concert parties. Soanotalu and Luana did likewise, though on a smaller scale. Films were regularly shown at all places, at least once a week, and usually more often. There were two visits from the Kiwi concert party, that admirable combination of artists, and one show from the 8th Brigade party. Several American USO shows were also presented. For the delight of the swing fan, an American regimental band gave a few programmes, playing in the heat of the mid-day sun on the beach at Malsi. Somewhat in the same style was the unusual concert by American coloured troops who arrived to relieve us in the Treasuries, and gave us this entertainment as a farewell gesture.

Then the divisional band arrived to help in the benefit gala held in March 1944. They put on five different performances, all of which were keenly enjoyed. A typical evening was to listen to the band play for 45 minutes, then watch a film, and finish the day with supper at the Ymca or in the mess.. Pat Parker's Ymca was one of the biggest native-type buildings in the Treasury Islands. Built almost entirely of sago palm leaf, it took several weeks to construct, but the labour involved was worth it. Suppers, games, a library, writing tables—it had everything to warm the heart of the page 106lonely soldier. Once a week it throbbed to the efforts of euchre players, or crib experts, who engaged in ferocious tussles. Branch YMCAs at Luana and Soanotalu did sterling work also, with volunteer assistants. A live organisation which was responsible for a lot of the battalion's brighter moments was the entertainments committee, comprising representatives of all companies in the Malsi area, with the Adjutant, Captain K. L. Sandford, as chairman. It staged shows in the Ymca fortnightly. Featured item of its repertoire was the impressive Brains Trust, a gathering of learned men who claimed to know an answer to everything. Its horse racing expert ('Marty' for short) displayed a staggering knowledge of that deceptive pastime, and the other members of the trust were little behind him in other subjects. A debate conducted by the committee unfortunately proved beyond shadow of doubt that WAACs are not good (despite the earnest protestations of the Sergeants who had to argue that they were, as against the officers, who claimed to know better). Other interesting truths which the debates revealed were that Pacific islands are definitely beautiful, and that life would not be more interesting if the women of New Zealand dressed like the women of Mono.

Other evenings were devoted to inter-company talent tournaments, and to talks from some of our globe trotters, Captain H. F. Fookes discoursing on Japan, Captain W. M. Maxwell on the Baltic States, and Captain F. Bentley, (of the British Colonial Service) on the London blitz. And, as proof that people are not what they seem, Padre A. H. Lowden, who, as a chaplain, should not do these things, gave an exhibition of knife-throwing.

Good preparations had been made in New Caledonia for the entertainment of the men as they returned from the forward area. There were waiting for us pictures, concert parties, recreation huts and clubs. In the few weeks that we spent there in Tene Valley, we saw a number of programmes from the National Broadcasting Service concert party, which presented individual and concerted singing items of a high standard. There was Henri Penn to display his mastery of the piano in several recitals. Separate theatres were speedily built for the 8th and 14th Brigades, and a pretentious camp theatre, with a large stage, and a seating capacity of several thousand, was soon completed. Some programmes were presented by the divisional band, and much interest attached to the arrival of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band from New Zealand, which gave drill displays on the sports ground, and a fine musical programme in page 107the new camp theatre. Not an evening passed when there was not some form of organised entertainment which one could attend. It was a great help to men who, after eight months or more in the Solomons, were hungry for the normal accompaniments of civilisation.