Caring to the end...Vera’s last letter saying thanks for a card
RESIDENTS at a care home are thought to have received the last letter written by DameVera Lynn.
The Forces’ Sweetheart, who died on Thursday aged 103, wrote to pensioners at Colten Care in Poole, Dorset, last week.
She was responding to a handmade birthday card they had sent her for her 103rd birthday in March, which included a montage of photos showing them holding yellow flowers.
Both staff and residents decorated it with a heartfelt message as well as the personalised photographs.
To their surprise, the singer wrote back to thank them for their efforts and encourage them to “keep smiling through” these difficult times.
The response arrived days before she died – meaning it could be the last message she penned.
It read: “Thank you so much for the beautiful handmade birthday card, which took pride of place on my mantelpiece.
Special
“It was very special to see your happy faces and to know that you ‘keep smiling through’.
“In these difficult times, it’s so important to smile and the beautiful yellow flowers in your photos are bright and cheery.
“I send you all my very best wishes and thank you again for taking the trouble to produce such a very special birthday card.”
Julie Wathen, companionship team leader, said residents were inspired by Dame Vera’s public message on VE Day at the start of May.
She added: “It was a rather wet and grey afternoon and everyone was apprehensive about lockdown
“Vera Lynn had just put out a message encouraging everyone to ‘keep smiling through’ as she’d sung in the lyrics of We’ll Meet Again at the start of the SecondWorldWar.
“We decided to create a card for her as a fun activity to cheer us all up. I felt she was a great role model again for these troubled times and one our residents could relate to. Her message about smiling seemed especially appropriate for us.”