Stars in Battledress Stars in Battledress ( SiB ) was an organisation that produced entertainment during World War II for and by military personnel History . In Britain , during the Second World War , entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high . In 1939 ENSA was organised by Basil Dean to send groups of entertainers to factories and military camps . The artists in ENSA were civilians and consequently could not be sent to areas were fighting was occurring . This did not mean that they were in places where there was no danger from enemy action — the whole of Britain was a war zone due to the air raids . In order to get concert parties to forward areas , " Stars in Battledress " was formed . Talent existing in serving members of the army and ATS was transferred and sent to perform in any location , even on the edge of a battlefield . Colonel Basil Brown , together with Major Bill Alexander and Captain George Black ( son of the impresario George Black ) started up the organisation . As all the members of the concert parties were in the Armed Forces of Britain , there was no restriction of the location of concerts . " Stars in Battledress " encompassed all three services . The RAF had a group called the " RAF Gang Show " , which was organised by Ralph Reader ( who had in the pre - war years produced the " Boy Scout Gang Show " ) . The Navy also produced many concert parties that performed both afloat and in onshore venues . SIB was directed during the war by Frank Chacksfield . It also included the popular band leader Bert Firman . " Stars in Battledress " is frequently referred to as an Army “ concert party troupe . ” It was very much more than that and had a considerable number of companies performing at various locations at the same time . Its official title was the War Office ( forerunner of the Ministry of Defence ) Central Pool of Artistes which was based in Upper Grosvenor Street , London . This was the first war in which there was an official military entertainment unit . Shows rehearsed at studios nearby and went on a shake - down tour of units , including AA sites , in the London area before going out on more extensive tours abroad or in the UK . Only other ranks were allowed to be in the cast . Officers had to be producers . Comedian , Sergeant Charlie Chester , was a major performer and in charge of the script - writing department . He was reputed to have taken a company abroad on the heels of the troops in the D - Day landings . Among his company was Arthur Haines who had developed his comic skills while serving in the Royal Engineers , and with whom he did a double act . While near Caen , northern France , Arthur ponted to a trench full of mud and scores of tiny frogs . He told Charlie : “ Nothing would get me into that . ” At that moment , a German plane appeared , raking the ground with its machine guns and Arthur promptly dived into the trench from which he emerged covered in mud and frogs . Haines joined Charlie in the BBC radio series " Stand Easy " which developed from the Army show and ran from 1946 to 1949 and Arthur went on to further success including the Arthur Haynes show in the early sixties . As it became clear that Germany had lost the war , more SIB companies were formed . Among them was " Going Places " with Lieutenant Desmond Llewellyn , who played Q in the James Bond films after the war , as producer , and Sergeant Wally Huntley , in charge on the road . " Going Places " had eight soldiers and two ATS members . Walter Huntley ’ s own story and of what it was like to be in an SIB show is told in his book " Dummy Bullets " , published by Trinity Mirror in 2008 . As a cub journalist he had enlisted in the Territorial Army in 1939 and was mobilised at the start of the war with the 149th Regiment , Royal Horse Artillery , in Hoylake , then in Cheshire . Because the Army had so few soldiers who could do shorthand and typing he was quickly posted to the regimental office . Huntley had been an amateur ventriloquist since his school days and had acquired a full size walking dummy , whom he enlisted with him ! They were soon involved in troop shows . As the Army had even fewer ventriloquists than shorthand writers he eventually became a full time entertainer with SIB and spent most of the war “ talking to myself . ” His dummy , Gunner Jimmy Green , had a battledress made for him by the Army and developed his own persona in military circles . After media publicity in the newspapers and on radio and TV – including a live broadcast from the BBC Centre at Shepherd ’ s Bush - he took up residence at the Imperial War Museum in London in 2009 , where he is one of the exhibits . Post - war . Post war operation of entertainment for the forces was taken over by the Combined Services Entertainment . References . " Stars in Battledress " by Bill Pertwee - published by FA Thorpe - ISBN 0 - 7089 - 8717 - 6