In 1940, Terriss and Hicks went to the Middle East with "ENSA", to entertain the British troops in World War II. After the war, Terriss retired from the stage. She and Hicks moved to South Africa, where she took up painting and was tutored by the marine artist George Pilkington. So good were her works that an exhibition was held at Foyle's Art Gallery, London, in February 1959. Hicks, who was knighted in 1935, died in 1949, and Terriss survived him by 22 years.