Unpublished Treasures from the FEPOW Concert Party Archive

By Sears A. Eldredge, Emeritus Professor of Theater and Dance, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota.

In 2000 I started out on a research journey into the musical and theatrical entertainment produced by POWs in their camps in the Far East during World War II. I had no idea how much material I would find so I collected everything. Actually, there proved to be such an abundance of material that I realized I had to narrow down the focus of my search if I wanted to produce a more in-depth study than a summarizing compendium.

Because most of the diaries and memoirs of former FEPOWs I read, as well as those I interviewed or corresponded with, had been involved in constructing the Thailand-Burma railway, that became my focus. The content of this material seemed to epitomize both the worst and the best of the FEPOW experience in captivity. The resultant book, Captive Audiences/Captive Performers: Music and Theatre as Strategies for Survival on the Thailand-Burma Railway 1942-1945, was published by Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2014, as an open-access e-book: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/thdabooks/22 .  

My plan is to post a series of blogs based on the unpublished material in my archive at the Macalester College library. The title for the series will be “Rice and Shine,” which is the name of the first show performed in captivity by the British 18^th Divisional Concert Party. British pre-war concert parties will be the focus of the initial blog. Future blogs will include the full story of the A.I.F. (Australian Imperial Force) Malayan Concert Party, the final concert parties in Changi Gaol, concert parties in Borneo (including Kuching), Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, The Philippines, and The Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia). Some of these might be quite lengthy, others quite brief. There might even be a blog about what new material regarding entertainment on the Thailand-Burma railway has come to light since the publication of my book. What is important to me is that these FEPOW entertainers finally get recognized for what they did to maintain morale during those terrible times.

If readers have any materials pertaining to FEPOW theatricals in captivity during WWII, then please share what you have through the Sharing Research blog.

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Posts on British Pre-War Concert Parties:

• Introduction to British Pre-War Concert Parties
• “The Optimists”: Territorial 18th Infantry Divisional Concert Party
• “The Optimists”: Territorial 18th Infantry Divisional Concert Party, part 2
• Outbound Shipboard Concerts
• 9th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
• 88th & 137th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, 11th Indian Division
• Singapore/Malayan Concert Parties, “Stand Easy”: the Singapore Services Entertainment Committee Concert Party
• Singapore/Malayan Concert Parties, “Stand Easy”: The Singapore Services Entertainment Committee Concert Party, Part 2
• Singapore/Malayan Concert Parties, “Stand Easy”: The Singapore Services Entertainment Committee Concert Party Part 3
• Conclusion: British Pre-War Concert Parties

Posts on Australian Pre-War Concert Parties

• “I’m The Hit Of The Show” – Part 1
• “I’m The Hit Of The Show” – Part 2

Posts on POW entertainment in Changi POW Camp and Changi Gaol

1942

• “Changi by the Sea”
• The A.I.F. Malayan Concert Party
• Early Days
• Wired In
• Singapore and its Environs — Work Site Concert Parties
• Touring Within Your Area
• Changes/Adjustments
• “They Won’t Let You Go”
• Portraits of members of the A.I.F. Concert Party
• The Y.M.C.A. Hut Concerts
• The Temple Players
• The 18th Division Players
• Further Troop Deployments
• Changi Carries On
• Two New Concert Parties
• Two Daring Variety Turns
• Touring Outside Your Area
• Trouble in the Works
• Fare Well
• “The Selarang Incident”
• Return to Normal
• Transit Camp
• Two Master Musicians:
• The New A.I.F. Indoor Theatre
• Lights Up!
• First Massive Troop Departures
• Miscellaneous News Items:
• Toneel
• Changi Garrison Cinema Discovered
• Working Parties Return
• Gentlemen Only
• Christmas, 1942
• Christmas Pantomimes
• More Trouble in the Works
• New Year’s Eve Celebrations

1943

• Changi Concert Parties: Jan.—Dec. ‘43
• First Anniversary of Surrender
• Symphony Orchestra & Choir on Tour
• The “Speedo”
• The Shows Go On
• Further Consolidation
• Out of Bounds
• 1st Short Wave Radio Broadcast & The Return of “H” Force
• Another Short Wave Broadcast and The Return of “F” Force
• Christmas Pantomimes, 1943

1944

• Changi Concert Parties: January–May ‘44
• The Intrepid Theatre-Goer
• Rations
• Worsening Situation
• Shocking Events