Combined Services Entertainment

The Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) is the live entertainment arm of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), a registered British charity. It is the official provider of live entertainment to the British Armed Forces. CSE routinely sends tours of entertainment to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Oman, the Falkland Islands and to Royal Navy ships deployed worldwide.

The CSE is the successor to the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). Originally, it was called the Central Pool of Artists. It emerged during and after the Second World War as the British Armed Forces' concert party.

Artists who began their careers in the Central Pool of Artists, and later the CSE, included Kenneth Williams, Spike Milligan, Stanley Baxter, Ken Platt and Peter Nichols.

Peter Nichols later adapted his experiences into a stage play (and later film) called Privates on Parade. This in turn inspired the long-running BBC TV comedy series It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Over the past decade, James Fox has undertaken many CSE tours to entertain British troops on active service in Afghanistan, Bosnia, The Falkland Islands and Iraq. In recognition of this, he was twice invited to perform at the Royal Albert Hall before the Queen as part of the Festival of Remembrance. In 2004, he presented a film highlighting the work of CSE before his performance.

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