R.C. Sherriff – November Past Pavilion

The theme for November is Remembrance. This brings to mind the world-famous war play Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff.

Journey’s End is set in March 1918 and plays out in an officers’ dugout in the trenches near Saint Quentin, shortly before Operation Michael began.

Sherriff served as an officer in the 9th East Surrey Regiment before being wounded in 1917. He initially enlisted with the Artists Corp.

Nearly a hundred years later, it’s challenging to comprehend just how successful Journey’s End was in post-war Britain. Practically overnight, the play shot Sherriff from insurance surveyor to household name.

The play was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run. Journey’s End was a smash hit success and quickly became popular overseas, eventually being translated into dozens of languages (inc. German).

Sherriff himself was surprised by the play’s success and often attributed it to the fact that enough time had passed since the war that those that fought could begin to address their experiences. And indeed, many veterans took their loved ones to watch the play as a good way of sharing a small part of their experiences.

Following the success of Journey’s End, Sherriff became an accomplished screen writer in Hollywood for films such as Goodbye, Mr Chips and The Dam Busters.

Sherriff, Journey’s End and the Pavilion

So why R. C. Sherriff and Journey’s End? What do they have to do with the Selsey Pavilion? Well, if you were lucky enough to attend one of Arts Dream’s excellent recent performances of Journey’s End or their 2014 promenade production, The End of the Journey, you may already know that Sherriff wrote part of Journey’s End whilst holidaying in Selsey. He owned property in Selsey and often spent his summers here when not in Hollywood!

And in early December 1933, Journey’s End was performed at the Selsey Pavilion with Sherriff himself in the audience! The extract below is from a review of the play in The Post, dated 2nd December 1933.*

“Selsey Amateurs’ Triumph: Temerity was never more justified than when the amateur actors of Selsey decided to stage “Journey’s End,” R. C. Sherriff’s famous war play, for in this drama, written by an ex-Service man, produced by an ex-Service man, presented by an association of ex-Service men, and acted by a cast, a number of which were ex-Service men, they scored an unprecedented triumph on Tuesday night.

The Pavilion, Selsey, was packed, and in the audience was Mr. R. C. Sherriff, who had taken a keen personal interest in the production.

The play, which was presented by the Selsey Branch of the British Legion, was a great success. The cast gave an admirable interpretation of the play, and Lieut.-Colonel Moore, the producer, thoroughly deserves the success which crowned his efforts.”.

In May 1934, the play returned to the Pavilion to raise funds for the R.N.L.I.

*Copied from E Heron Allen’s ‘Selseyana’ Vol VI 1933-1937 MP115 held in WSRO