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Dame Vera Lynn: 99 not out (Includes interview)

In 2017, this record-breaking singer, whose voice brought so much comfort during the dark days of World War II, will celebrate her 100th birthday. I chatted to the second most famous lady in the United Kingdom about music, war, nostalgia and whether she watches X Factor.

You began your career singing in the working men’s clubs of East London, is that right?

“That’s right, yes. My parents belonged to the club affiliation and I’d been brought up in these clubs since I was a little girl. When I started singing it was the obvious place for me to start.”

Were the audiences there tough?

“No no, they were wonderful. They weren’t tough at all. They were just ordinary, everyday people and they enjoyed the concerts there at the club.”

When the Second World World War began, did you think your career was over?

“Well yes I did because I didn’t think there would be any theatres open and entertaining like that. I thought, ‘Well that’s the end of my career.’ But you see it proved that entertaining in the theatres and wherever was absolutely vital, really, to keep people’s spirits up.”

At what point did you think you could be of use to the war effort and how did you get started entertaining the troops?

“Well I did a radio programme, which was called Sincerely Yours and it went everywhere. I did messages from parents and wives and family here to the boys overseas and singing request songs because the boys and the parents used to write to me, you know, ‘When you’re on the air next, will you please sing such-and-such a song for a certain person?’ That’s how it all started, by doing the request programme.”

Dame Vera Lynn at the War and Peace Show 2009.

Dame Vera Lynn at the War and Peace Show 2009.
Nicki (Growl Roar)

Who first coined the term ‘The Forces’ Sweetheart?

“That was a newspaper, The Express I think it was… They ran a competition at the beginning of the war, just as the war was starting, for them to choose their favourite singer. They just chose me because I’d been broadcasting since 1935, so everyone was very familiar with my voice. The boys voted for me. They called me their sweetheart.”

Whenever you see newsreel footage from the time, everyone always seems to be smiling. Is that typical of your generation; that you never allowed yourselves to be affected by what you saw and always tried to remain positive?

“Oh yes, this is all part of helping to keep up the morale. When I went abroad, I used to visit the hospital tents and sit and talk to the boys and tell them about home and give them news and everything, and of course you had to be as cheerful as possible while you were doing it all.”

No counselling for returning soldiers back then…

“That’s right – there was no counselling in those days. One just picked up where they left off and tried to get back to normality again and back into a usual life. No, we never had any counselling in those days.”

What are your standout memories of the war?

“The thing that stays with me, and will do forever, is my trip to Burma because I was over there for nearly four months and I stayed with the boys. I lived the same as they did, in their little grass huts, and that sort of thing stays with you… Being with the boys and seeing them go off into the jungle to fight and visiting them in the hospitals, the wounded boys when they were in the casualty tents. That sort of thing never leaves you.”

And you sang for them out there too?

“Oh yes. I had a pianist with me, who I brought from home – my usual pianist – and we moved around in a little army van thing with a piano in it and rather ancient microphone equipment. We used to just plug into the arc lights that the boys used to have at night to see where they were, or who was coming over, and that’s how we managed. We just moved around up and down the roads, or if it was too far we’d get in a little plane.”

How did you come to record your two most famous songs, “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” and “We’ll Meet Again?”

“Well in those days, if you were a singer and you had a broadcast or a recording to make, you would go round the music publishers and they would have all the songs there that were current – that had just been published. If I had a broadcast to do, I would just go and listen to all the songs and choose which ones I liked, and in that way ‘White Cliffs…‘ and ‘We’ll Meet Again’ were two of the obvious songs I chose.”

Did you ever think that they would go on to become so iconic?

“No not really, although ‘We’ll Meet Again’ is not necessarily a war song… You know, you meet friends and families and things and you enjoy their company and you say, ‘Oh well, hope to see you again.’ It’s such a simple song that it suits any situation and any country.”

Where were you when peace was declared in 1945?

“Oh golly, do you know I often try and think of exactly where I was. I was living in the country, I think, at the time and it seems such a long way away… I was expecting the war to be finishing because just previously to that, I was invited to Windsor Castle to do a show for the Royal Family and there was a sort of atmosphere there that one began to think, ‘Well this is done for a purpose; I think the war is nearly finished.’

“There were rumours going about that it was likely to be finishing soon, so of course I got a little insight into it before it was actually announced!”

You were privy to special information!

“Yes, I suppose you could say that!”

Do you ever think how your career might have panned out had it not been for the war?

“Ah, well that’s something I often think about. I think it’s where you are at a certain time and I think that’s life, really. I just happened to be a singer who sang songs that suited the public, and the songs I sang suited the mood everybody was in. They were optimistic songs – there were no sad songs.”

And in 1952 you became the first English singer to top the charts in America with “Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart”?

“That’s right, yes. The first English artist to have a number one and it was there for 12 weeks.”

What do you consider to be your proudest achievements in your post-war career?

“I don’t know. I mean nothing for me can beat the Burma experience – and I’ve continued to support the boys in the services ever since then because that’s been part of what I wanted to do.”

Why did you choose to remain at the side of the stage watching Katherine Jenkins sing “We’ll Meet Again,” at the 60th anniversary commemorations of VE Day in 2005? Why didn’t you sing?

“Well I just wasn’t singing at that time, you see…”

So the last time you sang in public was at the 50th anniversary celebrations 10 years earlier?

“Yes it was. There comes a time when the muscles of your throat don’t work properly – it’s like an athlete. I hadn’t been singing for some time and if you don’t keep it up, it goes, as it were.”

What do you make of popular music today? Is there anyone in particular you admire?

“Not really. I don’t listen to a lot of popular music, I’m afraid. There’s nothing that appeals to me, nothing hits me like it used to when I used to hear songs and think: ‘Now that is a great song – I’d love to sing that.’ You’ve got to start off really feeling that you want to sing this song and there’s not really those kinds of songs around now.”

Do you watch TV talent shows like X Factor?

“No!”

Who are your all-time favourite singers?

“Well I always used to go by people like Sinatra and Crosby. Sinatra was one of the greatest singers, I think. Not just for his voice but the way he used to interpret them. I was a great fan of his.”

Vera Lynn in 1962

Vera Lynn in 1962
Wikipedia

What do you make of British society today? Have we learned from the mistakes of the Second World War?

“I don’t think we’ve learnt very much. I mean there wouldn’t be all these wars around if we’d learnt a lot. It’s very sad to know that our boys are still dying in different countries… I don’t think we learn a lot from wars. The First World War was supposed to be ‘the war to end all wars’ and it didn’t, and the Second World War is the same.”

During the war it was said that post-war Britain would be a country ‘fit for heroes to live in.’ Do you think that that’s been the case?

“Well I think we could treat our ex-service chappies a lot better… It’s a difficult question to answer. People are people and they have their own views and they live their own lives, and will there ever be a time when there isn’t a war somewhere? I doubt whether they’ll be peace all over the world. There are always people fighting for positions and situations and things and unfortunately some of them create wars.”

But you still enjoy living in the UK?

“Oh yes, I couldn’t live anywhere else. I love the country, the countryside and the people. I think we’re very generous people in this country, always willing to help others. I know that through my charity work and I can’t think of anywhere better to live than here.”

Why do you think there is such a demand for nostalgia today?

“Well you see they were good times, in a way, because people were working together. They were living, hoping together and striving to be cheerful when things were down. Everybody worked and helped each other and I think a lot of people are still trying to live that way.”

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