Second World War forces’ sweetheart singer dies at 103
Host of popular BBC radio show, Vera Lynn reminded troops of those left behind
Dame Vera Lynn, the endearingly popular “Forces’ Sweetheart” who serenaded British troops abroad during the Second World War, has died at 103.
During the war and long after, Lynn got crowds singing, smiling and crying with sentimental favourites such as “We’ll Meet Again,” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.”
“The family are deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers at the age of 103,” her family said in a statement. “Dame Vera Lynn, who lived in Ditchling, East Sussex, passed away earlier today, 18 June 2020, surrounded by her close family.”
Lynn possessed a down-toearth appeal, reminding servicemen of the ones they left behind.
“I was somebody that they could associate with,” she once told The Associated Press. “I was an ordinary girl.”
Tributes poured in from political leaders, entertainers, veterans and thousands of fans. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said her “charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours. Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come.”
Lynn hosted a wildly popular BBC radio show during the war called “Sincerely Yours” in which she sent messages to British troops abroad and performed the songs they requested. The half-hour program came on during the highly coveted slot following the Sunday night news. Lynn had thought the war would doom her chance of success. “When war first started, when it was declared, I thought, ‘Well there goes my career.’ You know, I shall finish up in a factory or the army or somewhere,” she recalled.
In September 2009, long after her retirement, Lynn topped the British album chart with a best hits collection titled “We’ll Meet Again — The Very Best of Vera Lynn.” It reached No. 1, despite competition from the release of remastered Beatles’ albums.
Amid this year’s coronavirus outbreak, Lynn and opera singer Katherine Jenkins released a charity version of “We’ll Meet Again.” The public found comfort in her words of hope, which resonated in the locked-down country.
In a reflection of her enduring appeal, Queen Elizabeth II also invoked the words of Lynn’s signature song as she addressed the nation in lockdown. The monarch played on the song’s theme, promising that loved ones would be reunited in the end after being separated by the virus.
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return,” the queen said. “We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”
Lynn earned her nickname, “The Forces’ Sweetheart,” after coming top in a 1939 Daily Express poll that asked servicemen to name their favourite musical artists. Years later, she reflected on time spent with soldiers abroad.
“What they needed was a contact from home,” she said. “I entertained audiences from 2,000 to 6,000. And the boys would just come out of the jungle and sit there for hours waiting until we arrived and then slip back in once we’d left.”
While Lynn is best remembered for her work during the war, she had great success during the postwar years. Her “Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart” in 1952 became the first record by an English artist to top the American Billboard charts, staying there for nine weeks. Lynn’s career flourished in the 1950s, peaking with “My Son, My Son,’’ a No. 1 hit in 1954.
After staying away from the business for years, she had a 1970s comeback single “Don’t You Remember When” and even covered Abba’s “Thank you for the Music,” but fans still really wanted to hear the wartime classics. Lynn was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1975.