The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
We’ll meet again...
Crowd gathers in East Sussex village to remember Forces’ Sweetheart
Dame Vera Lynn has been honoured with a flypast in her beloved East Sussex village ahead of a funeral service in Brighton.
Two Second World War Spitfires soared over Ditchling to remember the late singer.
The aircraft made three passes over the village before leaving to applause from the crowd.
The adored singer, who entertained troops with morale-boosting visits to the frontline during the Second World War, died aged 103 on June 18.
The cortege bearing Dame Vera’s coffin, which was draped in a Union flag, arrived in the village centre as a bell tolled out.
Hundreds of people were gathered at the crossroads ahead of the procession, which was led by soldiers.
Representatives from the Royal British Legion stood in the road with flags as they waited to honour Dame Vera. A small police presence was also on hand to ensure proceedings went smoothly.
The cortege paused for several minutes in the centre of the village, where Dame Vera lived happily for 60 years, awaiting the flypast.
There was applause from the crowds as the two Second World War fighter planes flew over the village in honour of the national treasure.
The cortege then made its way out of the village as it continued its route to the crematorium in Brighton, bid farewell by shouts of “hip hip hooray” from the crowd in her honour.
It was followed by a spontaneous rendition of We’ll Meet Again, one of the songs Dame Vera was well-known for.
The cortege was greeted in Brighton by service personnel in uniform outside the chapel, including a military bearer party who were ready to receive the coffin.
A bugler from the Royal Marines was drafted in to provide a musical tribute inside the chapel, and the Ministry of Defence was represented by a senior officer. The funeral service was not open to the public, with attendance limited to a small family group as well as the officer and bugler.
A full memorial service will be held at a later date.
Ahead of the day, a giant portrait of the Forces’ Sweetheart was beamed on to the White Cliffs of Dover to commemorate her life.
Virginia Lewis-Jones, Dame Vera’s daughter, said: “We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support over the past few weeks.
“My mother always appreciated receiving messages from all over the world, and Ditchling was always particularly special to her, that is why we know she would be touched that so many people want to pay their respects.”
Second World War re-enactor Steve George, 59, came to Ditchling to pay tribute.
He told the PA news agency how he met the Forces’ Sweetheart at a re-enactment in a marquee surrounded by veterans.
Mr George said: “We had a group photograph with Dame Vera, we were all gathered round her dressed as the different generals. She was wonderful, absolutely wonderful, she had time for everybody... It’s the end of an era. “But she will never be forgotten.” Avril Gaynor, who first met Dame Vera Lynn when she was 10, told PA that the Forces’ Sweetheart changed her life.
She said: “It’s so sad, but I am glad she is getting a big send-off, to put it mildly.
“She was a wonderful, wonderful lady and I am so pleased that so many people want to come to pay tribute to her.”
Captain Sir Tom Moore also paid tribute ahead of her funeral.
Remembering her visit to troops in Burma, the Second World War veteran and NHS fundraiser told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “There she was, this lovely English girl... she was a great person to give us a lot more confidence and we were very, very pleased to see her.”
“She was wonderful, absolutely wonderful, she had time for everybody. STEVE GEORGE