DameVera ponders fate of soldiers she comforted in 1944

DAME VERA Lynn has told how she still thinks about the soldiers she met during the Second World War and whether they returned home safely.

The Forces’ Sweetheart, 97, who volunteered to sing to the troops fighting in Egypt, India and Burma in 1944, said that these days she cannot attend commemorations, such as the 70th anniversary of D-Day, as she can no longer get around easily.

But talking about the soldiers she met in Burma when she was just 27, she told the Radio Times: “I always wonder how many of these boys came back.

“What I really liked was just having a chat with them after I sang. I wasn’t separate to them — I lived in a tent like they did, with one bucket for washing and one for the toilet.

“I was one of them. They knew me.

“I’d go round the casualty tents where the wounded were brought in before they would go to a proper hospital. I’d sit on one of the beds and hold their hands.

“They’d ask howeveryone was coping at home. I’d always say, We’re fine’.

“They’d ask me to sing to them, and I would. I could see they were badly injured but we never spoke of that.”

The star is releasing an album, National Treasure, to mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings in June.

Five years ago Dame Vera was still l iving independently, travelled regularly and enjoyed cooking, gardening and driving, but today she is less mobile and struggles with deafness.

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