When Katherine Jenkins met Dame Vera Lynn

The Forces’ Sweetheart passed away on 18th June at her East Sussex home.

As well as being a wonderful vocalist, she was also a talented songwriter, who released a best-selling album of her songs set to new orchestral arrangements to celebrate her 100th birthday in March 2017. She had become the year’s best-selling female artist by October 2017, selling more albums than modern contemporary artists.

Dame Vera will be best remembered for her morale-boosting concerts for the Armed Forces in India, Egypt and Burma during World War II, when she toured as part of ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association. Among her best-loved songs was We’ll Meet Again, described as her “anthem of hope” during the dark days of the conflict.

Charity work
Throughout her life, she was renowned for her philanthropy, helping to raise thousands of pounds for charities. In 1953, she formed the charity SOS for people with cerebral palsy and became its chairperson. In 1976, the Vera Lynn Charity Breast Cancer Research Trust was launched, with the lady herself at the helm.

She was also president of the Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy and patron of the Forces’ literary organisation Worldwide for All, the Dover War Memorial Project, Projects to Support Refugees from Burma and Help 4 Forgotten Allies. In 2013, she campaigned against animal cruelty with PETA.

Recognised for her work during the Second World War and beyond, she received the War Medal 1939–1945, the Burma Star and the Order of the British Empire in 1969. She was appointed a dame for her charitable services in the Queen’s 1975 Birthday Honours and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2016 Birthday Honours.

Early career
Dame Vera was born Vera Margaret Welch in East Ham, Essex, in March 1917, to plumber Bertram and dressmaker Annie Welch. She always enjoyed singing and gave her first public performance at seven. Staging live shows regularly by the time she was 11, she adopted her Grandma Margaret Lynn’s maiden name as her stage name. In 1935, at 18, she gave her first radio broadcast with the Joe Loss Orchestra and began releasing records with dance bands. Her first solo hit was The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot in 1937.

At the start of the war in 1939, Dame Vera would sing to people sheltering in the tube stations, which became air raid shelters, to boost their morale. In 1941, she began her own radio show, Sincerely Yours, sending messages to the Armed Forces.

Apart from We’ll Meet Again, her other big wartime hit was The White Cliffs of Dover.

Post-war years
Dame Vera’s popularity never waned throughout her life and she was forever known as the Forces’ Sweetheart. Her post-war career saw her top the American and UK pop charts, while she hosted her own popular TV variety show in the 1960s and ’70s.

A regular performer on the Royal Variety Performance, in 1976 she hosted the BBC’s A Jubilee of Music to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. Dame Vera also sang outside Buckingham Palace in 1995 to mark the golden jubilee of VE Day.

A decade later, she joined the UK’s VE Day celebrations in 2005, when she made a surprise appearance at a concert in Trafalgar Square, London. Speaking to the crowds, she praised the bravery of war veterans, urging the younger generations to never forget the sacrifices they had made.

Influential icon
The iconic star had a massive influence on modern-day singers. When mezzo-soprano opera singer Katherine Jenkins met Dame Vera Lynn earlier this year, the two became great friends. They released a duet of We’ll Meet Again in April, in aid of the NHS Charities Together, supporting the brave health workers in the battle against COVID-19

A huge hit, the single became an anthem of hope, rocketing to number one in the iTunes charts just before the 75th VE Day commemorative celebrations. When the Queen addressed the nation on 5th April about the coronavirus crisis, she referred to the song’s famous lyrics, telling the public, “We will meet again.”

The wartime classic song had a massive 209% increase in streams on Spotify and rose up the iTunes chart following the Queen’s speech. All the proceeds of the new release went to NHS charities, providing help, including food, for staff and volunteers. Money is also being put aside for counselling and other support where needed after the crisis.

Jenkins performed a virtual duet of the famous song live with Dame Vera for the We’ll Meet Again VE Day 75 concert, as a sing-along, on 8th May this year. Their performance commemorated the brave troops of the Second World War and the people who had lost their lives to coronavirus. It boosted the morale of a nation on lockdown.

This was Dame Vera’s final performance.

Tribute
Speaking about the legendary singer following her death, Jenkins described Dame Vera as her “mentor and friend”. In an emotional tribute, she said, her voice brought comfort to millions of people during their darkest hours, with songs that “filled the nation’s hearts with hope”.
Jenkins said Dame Vera chose the sentiments of her songs, understanding instinctively what people wanted to hear, rallying everyone’s morale with her spirit and strength. She added, “There will never be another Dame Vera Lynn: Forces’ Sweetheart and our sweetheart.”

Dame Vera married clarinet player Harry Lewis in 1941, after meeting him when singing for Bert Ambrose’s orchestra. They had one daughter, Virginia, in March 1946. Harry died in 1998 and Dame Vera lived next door to her daughter for many years.

There certainly will never be another Vera Lynn and everyone, from the Queen and political leaders to stars of the entertainment world, has been paying tribute to the legendary performer following her death.

&Meetings held Dame Vera in the highest esteem and joined the nation in wishing her a happy 100th birthday in March 2017.