Date of birth:

March 20th, 1925 (Plymouth Unitary Authority-Devon/England, Great Britain)

Date of death:

January 23rd, 1945

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Cemetery Sittard
Plot: K. Grave: 11.

Nationality:

British

Vivienne Hole, was the daughter of Ewart and Gertrude Hole from Honiton in Devon. She, is
commemorated on a tombstone in R section of the Highland Road Cemetery in Portsmouth ,
having died at the age of 19 on the 23rd January 1945.
Vivienne was a chorus dancer who specialised in tap and acrobatic dancing. Under the stage name
Vivienne Fayre, she toured music halls and theatres doing chorus dancing and in a dance act known
as the 'Two Maxettes', named after her dance teacher Max Rivers, with Audrey Landreth, whose stage
name was Audrey Mayne.
At the end of 1944 Vivienne and Audrey enrolled at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in ENSA, the
Entertainments National Service Association, to provide entertainment to the British Armed Forces
personnel serving in World War II. Having completed their training at the Theatre Royal they were
seconded to different entertainment troupes.

Following a performance in France, Vivienne was travelling in a truck, containing stage scenery, to her
next concert engagement. The driver, taking a wrong turn, entered a minefield, hit a mine, whereby the
driver lost a foot and was killed instantly.
Vivien was taken to a First Aid Post of the field hospital called Kaiserslauten. by an ambulance as
instructed by the medical officer Sadly, Vivien did not survive the journey and died in the ambulance
on the journey. Her body was brought back to a village near Sittard (Ophoven) where the rest of her
troop was based. They were all distraught at this news.
Hearing of this tragedy, the villagers brought a lovely white coffin for her to be buried in.
The next morning Vivien was buried in the small village cemetery near Sittard (Ophoven).
In 1961 her body was exhumed and buried with full military honours in Sittard War Cemetery.
Vivienne Hole (Fayre) is the only ENSA fatality in the course of engagement during World War II.
Members of ENSA were also honorary officers in the British Army to enable them to have instant
access to the Officer's Mess.

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• Photo 1:
• - The Commonwealth War Graves Commission | CWGC
  - Friends of Highland Road Cemetery, Portsmouth
  - Corin Gelderblom
  

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