GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART VERA LYNN, VOICE OF A GENERATION 1917- 2020
GLORIOUS SIX-PAGE SOUVENIR TRIBUTE
‘The soundtrack of a generation’
DAME Vera Lynn’s voice will ‘lift the hearts of generations to come’, the Prime Minister said yesterday as he led tributes to the forces’ sweetheart.
The much-loved singer died yesterday morning at the age of 103, her family announced.
Her song We’ll Meet Again helped raise morale in the Second World War and took on new meaning for the 75th anniversary of VE Day during lockdown.
Boris Johnson said her ‘charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours’ and added: ‘Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come.’
The Queen will send a private message of condolence to Dame Vera’s family, Buckingham Palace said.
Her Majesty echoed Dame Vera’s most famous song when she addressed the nation in April saying: ‘We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again.’
The Prince of Wales’s Clarence House Twitter account posted a photographic tribute to Dame Vera. It read ‘Remembering Dame Vera Lynn’ and featured an image of the singer after she was invested as a Dame Commander in 1975, and a photo of her with Prince Charles, and also the Duchess of Cornwall.
Dame Vera’s death was announced by her family who said they were ‘deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers’.
They confirmed she died surrounded by her close relatives. Information on a memorial will be announced at a later date.
Tributes flooded in from the worlds of showbusiness, politics and charity.
Lyricist Sir Tim Rice hailed her ‘one of the greatest ever British popular singers, not just because of her immaculate voice, warm, sincere, instantly recognisable and musically flawless’.
He added: ‘She will be remembered just as affectionately for her vital work in the Second World War and for her own charitable foundations in the 75 years since. A link with more certain times has been irrevocably broken.’
Sir Cliff Richard said Dame Vera was ‘truly an icon’. He said: ‘She was held in such high esteem and my best, and favourite, memory was sharing a performance with her in front of Buckingham Palace for the VE Day celebrations in 1995. We walked to the stage through a crowd of survivors of that war, and they were reaching out to touch and get a smile from Vera.’
Sir Cliff said audience members were shouting ‘God bless you’ and ‘Thank you’. He added: ‘ Vera, thank you, God bless you, and I loved you too. Rest in a very deserved peace.’
Singer Katherine Jenkins, who came together with Dame Vera to record a special version of We’ll Meet Again to raise money for
NHS Charities Together, said: ‘I simply cannot find the words to explain just how much I adored this wonderful lady.
‘It was she who chose the sentiments of her songs – she knew instinctively what people needed to hear, how to rally the morale and her spirit and strength created the soundtrack of a generation.
‘There will never be another Dame Vera Lynn. Forces’ Sweetheart
and our sweetheart. An icon. A legend. An inspiration. My mentor and my friend. I will miss you greatly and I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.’
Decca Records said Dame Vera, who recorded for the label from the 1930s and had sold more than a million records by the age of 22, was ‘the brightest and most enduring star on the label’.
Ten years ago, she became the oldest living artist to land a UK
No.1 album, setting a record in the history of music and making the performer the only recording artist in the world to have spanned the pop charts from the 1940s to the 21st century.
During the Second World War, Dame Vera performed to troops on the frontline in countries including India, Egypt and Burma.
Yesterday NHS fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore, who served in India and Burma with 145th Regi
ment Royal Armoured Corps during the war and has just celebrated his 100th birthday, said: ‘A real shame, I really thought Vera Lynn would live longer, she’s been speaking so well on TV recently. She had a huge impact on me in Burma and remained important to me throughout my life.’
Mr Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds tweeted: ‘Will be playing her music here today. RIP.’
Commons Leader Jacob ReesMogg paid tribute to Dame Vera for the ‘great contribution she made to boosting the nation’s resolve and morale’.
He told MPs: ‘It is noticeable that when we have had a difficult time recently, it is once again her words that our sovereign reached for.’
Dame Vera’s daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones, said she was proud of the difference her mother made through her charity work. The Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity, which her mother founded to help youngsters with cerebral palsy, ‘always held a very special place in her heart’, she said.
The Royal British Legion hailed Dame Vera as ‘an unforgettable British icon, symbol of hope to the Armed Forces community past and present.’