Magic at War

The benefits of magic performances for prisoners-of-war For Prisoners-of-War (POWs) of all theatres of war, entertainment in prison camps provided much needed enjoyment and escapism. During the performances, the entertainers and their audiences might escape for an hour or two into a happier world. A performer on an improvised stage and open-air auditorium in the Changi POW complex (Source: Public domain) Working creatively and cooperatively with other performers and stage staff, gave those involved a focused goal and a sense of team spirit. It kept their minds active and positive. For British POW-magician Fergus Anckorn, the interactions with other actors during rehearsals were a major factor in his survival: “ I remember when we rehearsed and all that sort of thing, you quite forgot that you were in these terrible circumstances. We were learning a script and getting on with it, and doing our little show. Lots of laughs backstage, and that sort of thing... and it undoubtedly h...

When entertainers use stage names, it’s almost impossible to research any military connection they have, unless you know their real name. The story below was almost never told, until I spotted, by accident, that the home address of magician Lincoln Lee printed in an old magic magazine matched that of a Lancaster bomber navigator called Leslie Matthews. After that quirky discovery, the Lee/Matthews story – and his time as a POW at the Barbed Wire University – soon revealed itself.    A magical start   Leslie Albert Matthews (1913-1994) was born in London, England. By the 1930s, he’d established himself as a well-regarded professional magician, performing under the stage name ‘Lincoln Lee.’   He was an early member of The Institute of Magicians (a society for magicians founded in 1934) and performed at their first annual dinner:   “Lincoln Lee coupled stories with his tricks and the wand vanish, die box and Buddha mystery passed through his hands to the accom...