Elva Batt

Today we remember Elva Batt, an entertainer for the ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs). She recalls walking through the wards playing and singing, but it wasn’t until one song was requested that the ex-POWs would join in.

Elva Batt audio file (MP4 23.86 MB)

Elva Batt audio script

75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War

Audio actuality

“Fellow Citizens, the War is over” — (The Hon J B Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia)

On the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, Australia remembers Elva Batt, whose job it was to entertain the ex-POWs at war’s end.

For many of the men, they’d missed a lot in three-and-a-half years, as Elva recalled.

Elva Batt

I was with the Australian Army Amenity Service in Darwin when the war finished. And prisoners of war were coming back by ship. Some were well enough to come ashore, but some had to stay on the ship in bed.

And so, we arranged for a small group to go onboard ship to entertain them. And we wandered through the wards on board the ship, playing and singing.

But none of them was joining in, and we wondered why. And then someone said, play “Roll Out the Barrel”. And we suddenly realised that they had been prisoners of war for several years. And hadn’t known what the latest songs were and their memories were of songs from the early years of the war. So when we started playing those and “Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major”, they all joined in. It was quite moving, really.

Saturday, August 15 marks the 75th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. Let’s pay our respects to that amazing generation of Australians.