During the Second World War Sadler's Wells Ballet became a prominent contributor to public morale, giving London seasons interspersed with a demanding programme of provincial tours. Helpmann's workload often required him to dance leads in three performances in one day, and when Ashton was called up for active service in 1941, Helpmann took on the additional role of choreographer to the company. Ashton, in his enforced absence from the company, observed Helpmann's rise to pre-eminence with feelings of envy, and their relationship became edgy on Ashton's part. The ballets that Helpmann created for the wartime company were "Comus" (1942, based on Milton), "The Birds" (1942, to Respighi's "Gli uccelli"), "Miracle in the Gorbals" (1944, a story of redemption with a plot by Benthall and music by Arthur Bliss), and a version of "Hamlet" set to Tchaikovsky's music. While on leave from the RAF in 1943, Ashton created a new ballet for Helpmann, "The Quest", a patriotic tale of Saint George, with music by William Walton, who commented that Helpmann in the lead "looked more like the Dragon than St George." The music has survived but the ballet has not.