Tribute to the great Dame Vera Lynn
LIKE everyone I was saddened to hear about the passing of our great Dame and singer Vera Lynn.
Of all the well-known people I have met she was probably my number one too.
Long journey
I remember all too well making the long journey to Brighton to see her, and I asked her to hold my Walsall scarf for my book “Travels with my Scarf”.
I almost missed her due to traffic and parking in that seaside town. A quick run around the streets from where I had parked and with the clock ticking down I managed to make it.
Many around her were pointing her out to their grandchildren and telling them in hushed tones what an inspiration she had been during the war and they never forgot.
Talked
She also carried on her career well after the war and released another war song “I Love This Land” to mark the end of the Falklands war. I felt so privileged to talk to her and be pictured with her as she was in her nineties by then, but still had a clear mind and spoke concisely. Whilst the journey back was a little more leisurely and still as far, it was worth every minute to spend that time with her.
Indeed, I often thought about that day over the years when Dame Vera was in the news as she reached the milestones in her age and indeed just recently when she became the first centenarian in the charts with a record.
Along with her charity work for the cerebral palsy organisation SOS – which she formed, she was indeed a truly loving, caring and compassionate lady from another age.
As she says I am sure we all will meet again some sunny day.
Mark Dabbs 199 Darlaston Road Walsall WS2 9SD