Keele, Tommy A (Oral history)

British NCO served with 11th Bn Middlesex Regt in GB and Western Front, 1914-1916; attached to 'Ace of Spades' Concert Party, 12 Div on Western Front, 1916-1918; served with Local Defence Volunteers and 6th Bn East Kent Regt in GB, 1939-1944; served with 'Stars in Battledress' in GB and North West Europe, 1944-1945

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Kings Cross, London, 1893-1914: family circumstances; education; work as apprentice jockey and stable lad in France; 1907; work as stage jockey riding mechanical horses in 'The Whip' performed at Drury Lane Theatre; work as jockey and stable lad based at Brussels, Belgium; work as stage jockey in 'The Hope' performed at Drury Lane Theatre; work and relationship with Germans as show jumper in Germany, ca 1911-1912; work as jockey in Belgium, ca 1913-1914; question of pre-war ignorance of army. Background to recruitment into Middlesex Regt at Recruitment Office, Whitehall; 8/1914: desire to join horse unit. REEL 2 Continues: family reactions. Recollections of conditions of service and lifestyle during training with C Coy, 11th Bn, Middlesex Regt at Mill Hill Barracks, Colchester, Shorncliffe, Folkestone and Aldershot, 8/1914-5/1915: regimental number; kitting out and uniform; haircut; tent and barrack accommodation; conditions of service; army discipline and opinion of NCOs; kit inspections and loss of groundsheet; story illustrating problems with route marches; rifle and bayonet training; depot role of Mill Hill Barracks and formation of unit. REEL 3 Continues: duties as officer's servant and exclusion from company training ;story of pre-war experience playing post-horn and volunteering as bugler; training in bugle calls and qualification as regimental bugler; dismissal for forgetting bugle call and accidentally blowing fire alarm call; story of losing opportunity to use linguistic skills in anti-espionage role; daily routine; eating implements; canteens; washing and shaving; latrines; lice problem; question of adequacy of training, state of morale and initial posting to quiet sector on Western Front; pride in regiment. REEL 4 Move to Boulogne, France, 6/1915: absence of prior notification; state of morale; reactions to German atrocity stories and subsequent meeting with German POW. Recollections of conditions of service and lifestyle in mainly Bethune and Somme areas, 1915-1917: quiet nature of Armentieres sector; German shell fire; instruction in trench warfare including use of periscopes; German snipers and avoidance of making smoke; organisation of unit and sentry rota; nature of trenches and use of railway sleepers to make dugouts; story of drinking rum rations discovered in officers' dugout and subsequent attempt to rescue casualties in dugout hit by shell; communication trenches; carrying parties during rest periods; wiring parties; stories of looting from German corpses and burial parties. REEL 5 Continues: story of burial of corpses and smell of death; reactions to casualties; stories illustrating personal morale; story illustrating importance of boots; story of advising officer to shave in tea; lice problem; latrines; rat problem; shallow buried German corpse; state of health and trench feet. REEL 6 Continues: food rations; period as officer's servant including nature of officers' dugouts, story of post-war meeting with officer and questions of reasons for selection; role as officers' mess caterer including buying supplementary food for mess from canteens, use of French speaking ability in assisting in finding billets, status as lance corporal, question of profiting from position and cashing cheques at bank for officers; relationship with French billet owners and role of compensation claims officer. REEL 7 Continues: stories of interpreting and assisting compensation claims officer including forging his signature in pay books authorising pay for soldiers going on leave, assessing compensation for damage to crops; question of securing superior billets for officers and senior NCOs; story of homosexual approach by NCO; situation in billets behind lines including reaction to visits to officers in front line and personal morale. Recollections of period attached to 'Ace of Spades' Concert Party 12th Division, 1917-1918: failure of initial attempt to get posting to concert party; acting in occasional shows as female impersonator; successful appeal to Major General Scott to get posting to concert party; question of status as member of 23rd <Holding> Bn, Middlesex Regt; composition and organisation of concert party. REEL 8 Continues: dramatic range of performances; ordering costumes from GB; expansion of concert party when performing Arras theatre; question of backstage duties; venues mainly in Arras area; problem with ankle during period as stretcher bearers; advertising posters; entrance charge; selling duplicated photographs of performers; nature of venues; 'props' and costumes; stage lighting; nature of performance and typical acts; learning and performing as tap dancer; illustration of comic act; illustrations of roles singing comic songs and as female impersonator; story of role as Indian girl in dramatic play 'The White Man'. REEL 9 Continues: story of role as Indian girl in dramatic play 'The White Man' and make up used; stories of various fights; story of practical joke on soldier stealing wine from cast; story of clash with NCO in football match; question of other concert parties; films shown in theatre; question of homosexual mannerisms of most female leads; mature of audience response and story of fooling colonel with female impersonators; playing show for French civilians; Armistice celebrations, 11/11/1918; death of father and break up of family and question of demobilisation; story of selling stage props and costumes. Return to GB and demobilisation, 1918: compulsory delousing; charge for missing groundsheet. REEL 10 Continues: war gratuity. Post-war career: break up of family; securing work with concert party; question of mental effects of war service; marriage, 1920. Aspects of war service, 1915-1918: question of mental effects of war service; attitude to war and opinion of officers; question of refusal of commission; opinion of Australian, New Zealand, French, Chinese, Portuguese troops; church parades, question of religion and importance of mother. Post-war career: performances in canteens at Aldershot and illustration of changing musical tastes of troop; tour accompanied by wife as light comedian with concert party and as double act in India; concert party work based in Herne Bay and Tankerton. REEL 11 Continues: theatrical work based in Herne Bay and Tankerton; work managing music shop in Tankerton and consequent missed opportunity to appear in London show; continued theatrical work and local reputation; stories of theatrical work, work as plumber's tiler and working in bar in US, ca 1926-1927; working as assistant steward and entertainer on voyage back to GB; question of songs and 'patter' required for concert party summer seasons of shows at Herne Bay and Tankerton; nature of role as light comedian and singing popular songs. REEL 12 Continues: nature of role as light comedian singing popular songs and amusing stories of stage performances; collapse of theatre variety business; nature of radio broadcasts; pay; collapse of theatre variety business and securing work as tiler; success in establishing tiling business and story of developing anti-union opinions; question of approach of war. Recollections of activities with Local Defence Volunteers in Kent, ca 1939-1940: role guarding Manston airfield; outbreak of war, 3/9/1939. REEL 13 Continues: initial rejection of commission and promotion to sergeant; recruitment activities; guarding bridges and radio installation; reaction to outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; sons' service in RAF; preconceptions of war; initial relaxed discipline; billets; formation of 6th Bn, East Kent Regt; dispersed role; billets at Folkestone; role as mess sergeant in establishing and running officers' mess; official disapproval of friendship with officer; successful application for commission and posting back to unit; role as president of officers' mess; relationship with officers; training as officer and catering course; question of saluting ORs as officer; lecture from Montgomery. REEL 14 Continues: lecture from Montgomery on importance of fitness and subsequent removal of unfit officers; morning runs; supervising role of officers; role as catering officer; home service role; background to securing transfer to help form and run concert party. Recollections of period with Green Tree Follies and Khaki Cabaret Concert Parties attached to Corps Headquarters based at Tunbridge Wells, 1940-1944: preparations; role in recruitment of performers; attempt to recruit female performers; background to promotion to acting captain; role as producer of concert party; rehearsals; musical director; role of sub-agent in locating venues for performances; entry charges and finance. REEL 15 Continues: number of performances; size of concert party and division into two to expand number of shows; transport arrangements; origin of names from shoulder flash; question of pre-war stage and amateur experience of performers; relationship with performer who had been conscientious objector; relationship with NCOs and ORs; nature of performances; approach of D Day, 1944. Period as office commanding 'Stars in Battledress' Concert Parties attached to Second Army based at Bayeux, France, ca 6/1944-9/1944: background to selection and promotion to captain; administrative role; story of standing in for injured performer with ENSA show on HMS Despatch; Channel crossing, ca 8/6/1944 including self heating soup and reception on disembarking in Normandy; story of performer's unwillingness to march. REEL 16 Continues: story of dealing with performer's unwillingness to march; billets; attachment to neighbouring units for food rations and pay; story of false alarm during night; prior military training of performers; routine of three shows per day; composition and discipline of concert parties; links with ENSA; stomach problems; story of dispute over nature of role in assisting performer and consequent return to GB. Period acting as producer with 'Stars in Battledress' in GB, ca 1944-1945. Period as entertainments officer in Norway prior to demobilisation with gall bladder problems, ca 1945. Post-war career: failed attempt as stage director; work as childrens' entertainer.