Lena Ashwell Concerts at the Front Meeting - Newspaper Article, 1916
Title
Lena Ashwell Concerts at the Front Meeting - Newspaper Article, 1916
Date
17 March 2016
Description
Nottingham Evening Post article about a 1916 talk at the Theatre Royal by Lena Ashwell and her work in sending concert parties out to the war front
What's the story?
Lena Ashwell (1872 – 1957) was a significant cultural figure during this time.
She was an actress who by 1906 took up theatre management. However, she soon became known as the first person to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I.
She was a supporter of British war aims and in partnership with the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the YMCA by 1915 she began to organise companies of actors, singers and entertainers to travel to France and perform near to the front line.
By the end of the war there were 25 companies, travelling in small groups around France, performing violin solos, operatic arias, as well as Shakespeare.
Often the performers themselves would find themselves knee-deep in mud clutching their musical instruments.
In this talk at the Theatre Royal Ashwell, according to this newspaper report spoke passionately about her work:
“In simple phraseology, which often stirred her hearers to a very real appreciation of the pathos of the struggle, and sometimes stimulated their sense of humour, she described the character of the work, and spoke of the wonderful appreciation of the men in whose interests the movement was inaugurated”
As stated in the article a collection for Ashwell’s work at the front raised £20. This amounts to approximately £1,400 in 2019 and is described as “rather disappointing”.
She was an actress who by 1906 took up theatre management. However, she soon became known as the first person to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I.
She was a supporter of British war aims and in partnership with the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the YMCA by 1915 she began to organise companies of actors, singers and entertainers to travel to France and perform near to the front line.
By the end of the war there were 25 companies, travelling in small groups around France, performing violin solos, operatic arias, as well as Shakespeare.
Often the performers themselves would find themselves knee-deep in mud clutching their musical instruments.
In this talk at the Theatre Royal Ashwell, according to this newspaper report spoke passionately about her work:
“In simple phraseology, which often stirred her hearers to a very real appreciation of the pathos of the struggle, and sometimes stimulated their sense of humour, she described the character of the work, and spoke of the wonderful appreciation of the men in whose interests the movement was inaugurated”
As stated in the article a collection for Ashwell’s work at the front raised £20. This amounts to approximately £1,400 in 2019 and is described as “rather disappointing”.
Type
Newspaper cutting
Location of item
Nottingham Local Studies Library
Rights
Nottingham Local Studies Library
Contributor
Researcher: Lynn Whitley
