"Leisure and Entertainment during the Second World War" Wartime Entertainers: Noel Coward, British playwright and entertainer, with a British army officer arriving at an airfield for a visit to the British troops stationed in Persia and Iraq. Noel Coward was one of the few star entertainers who braved the harsh living conditions to visit the men of the PAI and Iraq Force. He is wearing a pith helmet with tropical kit.