Magic at War

"I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any." This blog article, published on 19th March 2021, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of British comedy magic legend, Tommy Cooper.   As you might expect, I'm going to focus on Tommy's wartime experiences, including the story of how he picked up his trademark fez. Update (1 October 2026): I've recently obtained Tommy's military service record. This provides additional information and some corrections which will be incorporated into the article shortly. In the interim, I've added an image of a poster for one of Tommy's shows in the Middle East (see below). Early years Thomas Frederick Cooper (1921-1984)  was born in Caerphilly, Wales. His family moved to Exeter,  Devon  when he was three. A t the age of eight, an aunt bought Tommy a magic set and he would spend hours perfecting all the tricks.  After finishing school, Cooper left the family home to become an app...

During wartime, cinema remained an extremely popular pastime. In Britain alone, between 25 and 30 million cinema tickets were sold each week.  Movies provided war-weary audiences an escape from the turbulence and sacrifice of war, while also providing an opportunity for nations to boost morale, through government-funded propaganda films.  The epic American film  Gone With The Wind  (1940) was the smash hit of the war, but British films such as  In Which We Serve  (1942) and  Millions Like Us  (1943) were also highly successful.     Magic-related plots, scenes, or magician characters were a steady feature in films released during World War Two. Here's a selection : The Magician's Daughter (1938). Playing in British cinemas in the summer of 1939, as war was breaking out across Europe, The Magician's Daughter is a 'movie short' made by MGM Pictures.  Billed as a "miniatu re musical" the title character falls in love with a magaz...