We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
LAST UPDATE | 18 Jun 2020
DAME VERA LYNN has been remembered as a “patriotic woman and genuine icon” following her death aged 103.
The singer, who entertained troops with morale-boosting visits to the front line during the Second World War, died surrounded by her close family.
Her family said in a statement they were “deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers at the age of 103”.
They added: “Dame Vera Lynn, who lived in Ditchling, East Sussex, passed away earlier today, 18 June 2020, surrounded by her close family”.
Sir Cliff Richard and singer Katherine Jenkins joined Prime Minister Boris Johnson in paying tribute to Dame Vera.
The Queen is to send a private message of condolence to Dame Vera’s family, Buckingham Palace said.
Sir Cliff said: “Dame Vera Lynn was truly an icon. 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. I heard the words … ‘God bless you’ … ‘Thank you’ … ‘We love you’ for their very own Forces’ Sweetheart! A great singer, a patriotic woman and a genuine icon.
I am happy to use the words called out on the wonderful day. Vera, thank you, God bless you, and I loved you too. Rest in a very deserved peace.
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”.
Jenkins, who recently recorded a duet of We’ll Meet Again with Dame Vera, with proceeds going to NHS Charities Together, described the 103-year-old as “an icon. A legend. An inspiration. My mentor and my friend”.
She added: “I simply cannot find the words to explain just how much I adored this wonderful lady.
Her voice brought comfort to millions in their darkest hours, her songs filled the nation’s hearts with hope, and her emotive performances, whether home or abroad, then or now, helped to get us through.
“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. I will miss you greatly and I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.”
Dame Vera’s death will also be marked with a special tribute programme to be aired on BBC One tomorrow night.
The corporation’s outgoing director-general Tony Hall announced the programme in a statement as he paid tribute to Dame Vera.
Lord Hall said: “What sad news. Not only was she dear to many, she was a symbol of hope during the war and is a part of our national story. She appeared on the BBC many times and had her own variety show in the 1960s and early 70s.
“She demonstrated how music and entertainment can bring joy in the most challenging times. Something that will resonate with many people today.”
The BBC said the programme would be a tribute to celebrate Dame Vera’s life.
It added: “With footage first recorded to celebrate her 100th birthday and a new introduction by her daughter Virginia, it includes exclusive access to Dame Vera as she watches home movies and videos from the past with her daughter.”
Earlier this year, ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Dame Vera spoke of remembering “the brave boys and what they sacrificed for us”.
The Queen referenced the title of one of Dame Vera’s most beloved wartime songs when she told the country, separated from families and friends during the coronavirus lockdown: “We will meet again.”
She was also fondly remembered for singing The White Cliffs Of Dover, There’ll Always Be An England, I’ll Be Seeing You, Wishing and If Only I Had Wings, to help raise British spirits during the Blitz.
“My songs reminded the boys of what they were really fighting for,” she once said. “Precious, personal things, rather than ideologies and theories.”
Dame Vera later had her own television show and toured the world.
She remained an outspoken supporter of military veterans throughout her life.
Dame Vera was born in East Ham, east London, on 20 March 1917.
She performed for troops during the war, often at great personal risk, in countries including Egypt, India and Burma.
In May this year, Dame Vera became the oldest artist to score a top 40 album in the UK.
The 103-year-old saw her greatest hits album 100 re-enter the chart at number 30, boosted by commemorations for the 75th anniversary of VE day on May 8.
Her daughter, Virginia Lewis-Jones, hailed her mother’s charity work and the difference she had made, referencing one charity in particular which had “a very special place in her heart”.
The late singer was the founder and president of the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity, which helps young children with cerebral palsy and other motor learning difficulties to “get the best possible start to life”.
Lewis-Jones, the charity’s vice president, said her mother made a difference to the lives of many families.
She said: “Although my mother was closely associated with other charities, not least those supporting veterans, the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity always held a very special place in her heart – the children loved her as much as she loved them, and I’m extremely proud of what it has achieved and the difference it has made to so many families’ lives.”
Dame Vera was recognised for her services to entertainment and charity in 2016 after being made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Her family said that further information regarding a memorial service would be announced at a later date.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Dame Vera RIP.
I guess today is that “sunny day”. codladh sámh, Vera. A life well-lived
Rest in Peace Vera. Wishing you Love and Laughter and Peace ever after….
A great voice that sang out in the wilderness of the second world war
Does anybody else in here feel the way I do? RIP to a remarkable lady whose influence will be remembered for a long time to come.
R. I. P.
RIP lovely lady.
My dad served in the South African Air force during WW2, and always fondly spoke of, and enjoyed , Dame Vera’s singing .
Interestingly, Dame Vera , and my late dad, shared the same birthday, 20th March 1917.
xx
May she rest in peace
Vera ! Vera! What ha become of you? We will meet again some sunny day.
@John Rock: that is how I heard of her.
This is the Sunny day.
Rip
So sad to hear this nows…i love all her songs. A true lady..
Roger Waters Pink Floyd referenced her in a track. That’s how I came to hear of her. Cant believe she only passed on now.
@Danny O’ Mahony: ‘Vera’ – it’s a short track of just over 90 seconds long and appropriately followed by ‘Bring The Boys Back Home’ from the album The Wall.
Vera Lynn – RIP.
@Danny O’ Mahony: she’s also mentioned in the Shamen song Eezer Goode.
Anybody got any Vera’s?
Vera Lynn meaning skins.
@Gav Murphy: always wondered what that lyric was about. Thanks gav
@Danny O’ Mahony: Gary Numan Wars Stories:
Old men love war songs
Love Vera Lynn
103, now that’s a life lived. Sláinte Vera.
Vera, you will know love and laughter, and joy ever after in heaven. You were a shining example to a world in darkness.
What an apsolutly Beautiful Voice Vera Lynn had, that meant so much to so many. RIP
A Dame a Proper lady with a beautiful voice . R.i.P
Rest in peace to Dame Vera Lynn: It is said that the good die young. Perhaps Dame Vera was the exception that proved the rule. A no nonsense English working class woman with ‘grace and no airs’ to turn that saying on its head. She will be missed. RIP.
Lovely comments on here today. RIP Dame Vera..broke the mold when you were born
Does anyone here remember Vera Lynn. Rip Vera
@Tony Joyce: Does anybody else in here feel the way I do?
Anybody got any Veras….lovvvvely. RIP Vera.
We’ll meet again for sure. God bless you Dame Vera
They’re going to be intolerable for weeks, aren’t they?
@Derek Walsh: Oh Jesus yes
We will never meet again RIP Vera
Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that
We would meet again some sunny day?
Vera, Vera, what has become of you?
Does anybody else in here feel the way I do?
‘Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn’, love that Pink Floyd lyric from the Wall. RIP, what a lady.
Why is this being reported in an Irish newspaper?
If she had been South African or American would it have been?
She has absolutely no connection with Ireland.
@Shedonny: Well, obviously a lot of Irish served in the Allied forces.
@Shedonny:
A lot of Irish folk (including relations of mine) worked in Britain during WW2 and loved the hits of those days in sing songs.
I first heard Vera Lynn songs as a nippper listening to these at family dos – here in Ireland.
@Glenbower: and she was a great singer
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say