Crowds sing at final farewell to Dame Vera
Military escort and flypast by wartime fighter planes at funeral for ‘Forces Sweetheart’
A FITTING tribute to the nation’s sweetheart saw soldiers’ heads bowed in sorrow as a waiting crowd burst into spontaneous song for the funeral of Dame Vera Lynn.
The adored singer, who entertained troops with morale-boosting visits to the front line during the Second World War, died aged 103 on June 18.
As she was laid to rest yesterday, she was honoured with a flypast in her beloved East Sussex village, with the roar of approaching wartime fighter planes met with applause from crowds who had gathered to say their farewell.
The church bells of Ditchling tolled as the cortege bearing her coffin, draped in a Union Flag, arrived in the centre of the village where hundreds of people were waiting ahead of the procession.
As the cortege made its way out of the village on its route to the crematorium in Brighton, it was 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, inset, was best-known for, and for which the Queen had honoured her in tribute.
“We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support over the past few weeks,” said her daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones.
“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, was among those who travelled to the village where Dame Vera had lived for 60 years to pay tribute.
“She was wonderful, absolutely wonderful, she had time for everybody... It’s the end of an era,” he said. “But she will never be forgotten.”
A bugler from the Royal Marines provided a musical tribute inside the chapel, and the Ministry of Defence was represented by a single senior officer who, along a small family group, were the only people to attend the funeral service.
A full memorial service will be held at a later date.
A large print of Dame Vera in red, white and blue was pinned up in the centre of Ditchling following the flypast. Mourners were invited to sign the colourful tribute in silver pen and leave messages.
One message read: “We love you, Auntie Vera. We will meet again.”
Another read: “Vera, you were hope, when hope was fading. You were our smiles, when smiling was a struggle.
“You touch hearts all over the world and you will forever be in ours.”
Captain Sir Tom Moore was among those to pay tribute to Dame Vera ahead of the funeral.
Remembering her visit to troops in Burma, the Yorkshireborn Second World War veteran and NHS fundraiser said: “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.”
He recently received a letter from Dame Vera in recognition of the millions of pounds he has helped to raise for the NHS and said: “I was absolutely thrilled to get a letter from Dame Vera congratulating me on the amount of money that we’d raised for my birthday.
“She was always so kind, she was lovely, I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for Dame Vera.”
She would be touched that so many want to pay their respects. Virginia Lewis-Jones, Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter.