Magic at War

Sir Julien Cahn made a fortune from furniture, fielded one of the most successful private cricket teams of the inter-war years and gave generously to medicine, agriculture and public causes. He was also a serious amateur illusionist who built one of Britain’s finest private theatres. Then war transformed Stanford Hall: an Army unit moved onto the estate, wounded soldiers recuperated beside his stage and Cahn’s magic found a military audience. More than eighty years later, Stanford Hall is again devoted to the rehabilitation of servicemen and women. Sir Julien Cahn Bt. (1882-1944) (Source: Unidentified and AI enhanced) In December 1938, a newspaper described an extraordinary new addition to Sir Julien Cahn’s country estate at Stanford Hall, near Loughborough. The theatre seated hundreds and was equipped for cinema, elaborate lighting and the owner’s increasingly ambitious magical illusions. Then came a less theatrical detail. Beneath it was a “bomb-proof dug-out”. Nine months later Brit...

Snippet: In this short post, we explore a snippet of a war-related story about an African magician, Prince Ali Raji.     Before becoming a magician, George Bondinei served as a lieutenant in the German military, presumably the army.   Pre-World War One, he was likely living in one of Germany ’ s African colonies, such as Togoland, Kamerun (Cameroon), German Southwest Africa (modern-day Namibia) and German East Africa (comprising present-day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi). The Germans recruited soldiers from their colonies to fight the Allies there, while some also served on the Western Front.       After the war ended, Bondinei appears to have made his way to America, where he studied conjuring, briefly, with William Davis Le Roy (or Leroy). Le Roy ran a shop and “School of Magic” in Boston, Massachusetts from 1893 through to his death in 1919.   Post-war, Bondinei toured theatres as Prince Ali Raji–the African magician. He likely started off on America...

*** Update: Blogs will continue in 2025 *** We ’ re taking a short break from posting Magic at War blogs while we research and prepare the next batch. Also, to give us time to  work on other magic-military history research and writing projects. You ’ ll hear about these here first, so check back soon! Since 2019, we ’ ve posted 90 articles. See the full index here .  Future articles will include: Rovi: The Welsh Wizard fights for his country Turn to that light!: Magicians in the A.R.P. The Magicians of Auschwitz Cyril Branson: Heroism beneath the sea WW2’s top 10 magic book Al Sharpe: entertaining the troops Paul Kerr: The Battle of the Bulge Stars in Battledress: magic on the frontline D-Day magicians Kalanag: The Nazi’s magician “Calling Doctor Magic!” The Great Carmo: A trouper entertaining the troops Carlton: Back to war The Eccentric Entrepreneur: Sir Julian Chan Emilie Clifton: A Tuskegee Airman The core theme over the last year-and-a-half has been magicians wh...

Even more examples of war-themed tricks invented by magicians to keep their acts topical for audiences and capture the national mood during World War Two.  Electro and The Victory Stand Electro was a popular magician ’s trick during World War Two. The effect  involving swallowing and reproducing small lit electric light bulbs. It was invented by a magician called Cyro, and first published in Eric C. Lewis’  Studies in Mystery  (1941) with the title ‘Lighted Bulbs From Mouth’. Later, the effect was marketed by London-based magic dealer Lewis Davenports & Co. using the name Electro. It received rave reviews from their   customers: “Your Electro is the best effect for a good many years,”  wrote Danilla in The Demon Telegraph magazine.  While Ravelle reported, “I used ‘Electro’ for the first time (publicly) at a troop show last Friday. It was a SMASH HIT, they wouldn’t stop applauding” .  The Victory Stand ( Source:  Author, courtesy of The ...

Will Ayling was known as The Genie. This was apt, for he was both a magician and rather short in stature. He discovered magic in his late teens, learned his craft as war clouds loomed across Europe, and deployed his organisational skills to produce entertainments for war-weary troops throughout India and Burma. Post-war, he made a significant contribution to the advancement of the art, as a performer, author, collector and leading member of the magic community.     Promotional image for Will Ayling - The Genie (1954) (Source:Will Ayling) Learning magic   William Richard Ayling was born on 2 March 1914 in the port city of Portsmouth on England’s south coast.    As a youngster, Will was both ‘arty’ and a Christian. These two interests combined when he joined the drama group of a local church. He got involved in acting, writing and producing a range of entertainments. When the group put on a variety show, Ayling volunteered to find a magician to join the cast....