Robert Ross recalls the career of Tommy Handley, a pioneering broadcaster and comedian who provided much-needed cheer during the dark days of World War II…

Tommy Handley (1892-1949)

Tommy at the microphone for one of his early BBC radio recordings

A this most nostalgic, Roy Hudd hosted a delightful, straight-tovideo celebration of Jokes That Won the War. Certainly, if any comedian can be lauded as the figurehead of humour who kept the home fires burning during the Blitz it is undoubtedly Tommy Handley.

While the legendary I.T.M.A. or, to give it its full title, It’s That Man Again, is a vibrant footnote in the history of sketch comedy, the show’s importance during the darkest days of World War II can not be overestimated. Tommy Handley was the show’s quick-witted, breezy, resonant and relentlessly funny star: residing over a changing collection of mercurial character comedians who rattled off more catchphrases per minute than any other programme.

REMORSELESS ENERGY

Thomas Reginald Handley was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, and never once did that remorseless energy for a good laugh, so indicative of his home city, flag during an extensive comedy career. The early death of his father, whilst young Tommy was still a boy, necessitated his bread-winning skills to embrace both salesmanship and singing: the latter purely on an amateur basis, for the tips.

He turned professional in 1916, and performed in the touring operetta The Maid of the Mountains, before enlisting with the Royal Naval Air Service, in 1917. Even the Great War couldn’t dampen his passion for entertaining, and during the final months of his Great War experience, he kept fellow servicemen cheerful in camp concerts.