'The Concert in the Desert', 1942 (c)

Watercolour over pencil by Eric Dawson, 1942 (c).

Entertainment was organised to break up the monotony of desert life: Christmas concerts and theatricals provided entertainment, and also kept soldiers occupied as they learned new roles or acclimatized to North Africa conditions.

Eric Dawson served in North Africa, Syria, Palestine and the Lebanon with 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade, the Royal Engineers and the Army Educational Corps.