In this episode of The A to Z of Wartime Song, hosts Lili Redman and Tom Carradine explore the poignant and poetic "Now Is the Hour", a wartime farewell song which started life in New Zealand. They trace the tune's journey from the 1913 piano piece "Swiss Cradle Song" through its Maori adaptation as "Po Atarau", to its powerful role in farewelling ANZAC soldiers and its eventual transformation into the global hit we know today. Alongside Gracie Fields' famous rendition, the episode spotlights the many competing recordings that flooded the charts in 1948, including versions by Bing Crosby, Margaret Whiting and many more. Lili also shares her deep admiration for Gracie Fields, tracing her extraordinary life from Rochdale to Capri, including her tireless wartime service, a battle with serious illness and the controversies that followed her across the Atlantic. REFERENCES TankFest 2025 https://tankmuseum.org/ Capel Military Show https://www.capelmilitaryshow.com/ The People's Mosquito https://www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk/ https://www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk/2025/06/24/ibccdedication/ Gracie Field's http://graciefields.org/wordpress/ Sally in our Alley https://youtu.be/QdJxfECY4aM?si=3Ohm-SPp7r6UCE_n Gracie sings "Sally" on the Royal Variety Performance (1978) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoaHT3JMu4k Shipyard Sally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZIOAlMZRSU Little Man in a Bowler Hat http://graciefields.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Strube.jpg La Canzone del Mare (Capri) https://www.lacanzonedelmare.com/ Now Is The Hour - History of the Various Versions https://www.folksong.org.nz/poatarau/ Red White and Navy Blue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMoykfXymaw&list=RDtMoykfXymaw&start_radio=1 Rolling wheels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aly2h-KXDyk&list=RDaly2h-KXDyk&start_radio=1 Maori Battalion March to Victory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXUrSnM5Q2I&list=RDkXUrSnM5Q2I&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvEAggml5co For We Are the Boys of the Southern Cross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odUsiIldzU&list=RD6odUsiIldzU&start_radio=1 Songs We Sang - Les Cleveland https://rnzaoc.com/2019/08/23/the-songs-we-sang/ Sons of Gallipoli https://youtu.be/N19p71z5iVI?si=A3tvI1eYH2XCrEid Glenn Miller Festival, Clarinda, Iowa https://www.glennmiller.org/festival Twinwood Festival https://twinwoodevents.com/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:50 Catch Up 03:03 N = Now Is The Hour 03:49 Gracie Fields 04:25 Gracie's Early Years 05:15 Gracie's Rise to Fame 06:34 Gracie's Marriage to Archie Pitt 07:38 "Sally in our Alley" 09:58 Gracie's Charity Work 11:25 Gracie's Health Struggles and Public Support 17:11 Gracie's Return to the Stage and Wartime Work 19:28 Marriage to Monty Banks 21:33 Gracie's Post-War Career22:04 Marriage to Boris Alperovici 22:26 Gracie's "Miss Marple" 23:41 Life in Capri and Celebrity Connections 25:08 Gracie's Final Years 25:58 The Origins of "Now Is The Hour" 30:00 Gracie's Discovery of the Song 32:41 Other Post-War Recordings 33:25 Discussing the Sheet Music 35:28 Discussing the Lyrics 35:55 Lyrics and Their Cultural Significance 37:06 Discussing the Music 40:24 Discussing Recordings: Gracie Fields 42:18 Bing Crosby 44:11 Vera Lynn 45:06 Margaret Whiting 46:06 Buddy Clarke 47:28 Eddie Howard 48:43 Kate Smith 49:12 Our Favourite Recording? 50:19 Recommendations for Further Listening 52:50 Mentioned in Dispatches 55:14 Teaser for Next Episode 56:24 Outro SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS You can follow the podcast on social media: http://instagram.com/warsongspod https://www.facebook.com/warsongspod Find more information about Lili Redman here: https://liliredman.com/https://www.instagram.com/lili__redman/ https://www.facebook.com/ScalaLil Or Tom Carradine here: https://www.tomcarradine.com/https://www.instagram.com/tomcarradine https://www.facebook.com/mrtomcarradine CONTACT THE PODCAST If there's a wartime song that you think they should discuss, or if you have a personal or family story connected to one, drop them a line at [email protected] to be "Mentioned in Dispatches". LISTENING LINKS Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ktQ4nyudmPRLcCNyNxEfv?si=ac9e1babe6834f2b Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-a-to-z-of-wartime-song/id1806037318 If you've enjoyed this episode Lili and Tom would be grateful if you'd leave a review and make sure you've subscribed and turned on notifications so you'll never miss an episode.