Vera Lynn - Biography - IMDb Vera Lynn Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (16) | Personal Quotes (3) Overview (4) 5' 7" (1.7 m) Mini Bio (1) Vera Lynn was born on March 20, 1917 in East Ham, London, England as Vera Margaret Welch. She was previously married to Harry Lewis. Spouse (1) (1941 - 1999) (his death) (1 child) Trivia (16) Subject of a song on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and in the movie of the same. Refers to the 1942 "We'll Meet Again". She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1969 Queen's New Year Honours List and the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Released a comeback single in the 70s called "Don't You Remember When" which was written and produced by Lynsey de Paul .

Had a radio show during the war for the BBC titled 'Sincerely Yours' where she sang requests in the form of a letter to troops overseas, visited their wives and visited the troops abroad in Burma. Bestselling autobiography 'Vocal Refrain' and bestselling war memoirs 'We'll meet again' Husband Harry Lewis was a musician in the Bert Ambrose orchestra where Vera was a singer. Retired in 1995 after singing outside Buckingham Palace at the 50th V.E. Day celebrations. She often appears at war shows and made a surprise appearance at the 60th V.E Day show in London (2005). Left school at 14 to work in a factory, after working a few weeks in the factory she decided to return to singing in clubs A regular guest on Tallulah Bankhead radio show 'The Big Show'. Brother: Roger Daughter: Virginia Penelope Ann Lewis, born 10th March 1945 Had a hugely successful music career. Which included being the first British female to top the American Billboard charts with "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" in 1952.

That same year she had 3 top ten hits in the first ever official UK Singles chart on November 14th 1952. In 1957 she topped the UK Singles chart with "My Son, My Son" which featured the Frank Weir Orchestra. On 13th September 2009 her greatest hits collection, "We'll Meet Again - The Very Best of Vera Lynn", topped the UK album chart, making her the oldest artist ever to do so, aged 92. Made many trips to remote camps near the front during World War II, in the Pacific theater of operation; to entertain and visit the troops. She is now widowed and residing in Ditchling in East Sussex. [June 2004] She was awarded the CH (Companion of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to entertainment and charity in East Sussex, England. Personal Quotes (3) I've never claimed to be a great singer but I've always given my best, and I've loved what I've done, and had a very good life. You hear people go on about unpopular wars, but show me a popular one.

Nobody in their right mind wants to go to war, but when it happens you have to get behind your troops. I got so many letters. I still get them now, and I'm always moved by them. It seemed extraordinary that soldiers would come back from the war and write to thank me for what I had done. It made me feel very humble, and that's why I've always done everything I can to thank them back. See also War Cemetery Brunssum - Vera Lynn Vera Lynn Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917), widely known as "The Forces' Sweetheart" is an English singer, songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during the Second World War. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England".

She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and her UK Number one single "My Son, My Son". In 2009 she became the oldest living artist to make it to No. 1 on the British album chart, at the age of 92. She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer. She is still held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the twentieth century. Vera Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917 in East Ham, in what was then the county of Essex, now East London. When she began performing publicly at the age of seven, she adopted her grandmother's maiden name (Lynn) as her stage name. Her first radio broadcast, with the Joe Loss Orchestra, was in 1935. At this point she was being featured on records released by dance bands including those of Loss and of Charlie Kunz.

In 1936 her first solo record was released on the Crown label, "Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire" This label was absorbed by Decca Records in 1938. After a short stint with Loss she stayed with Kunz for a few years during which she recorded several standard musical pieces. In 1937, she moved to the aristocrat of British dance bands, Bert Ambrose. She is best known for her 1939 recording of the popular song "We'll Meet Again", written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles; the nostalgic lyrics ("We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day") were very popular during the war and made the song one of its emblematic hits. During the Phoney War, the Daily Express asked British servicemen to name their favourite musical performers: Vera Lynn came out on top and as a result became known as "the Forces' Sweetheart". In 1941, during the darkest days of the Second World War, Lynn began her own radio programme, Sincerely Yours, sending messages to British troops serving abroad. She and her quartet performed songs most requested by the soldiers.

Lynn also visited hospitals to interview new mothers and send personal messages to their husbands overseas. Her other great wartime hit was "The White Cliffs of Dover", words by Nat Burton, music by Walter Kent. In 1943 she appeared in the film We'll Meet Again. Contrary to later reports, she neither sang nor recorded "Rose of England" during this time and it was only in 1966 when her producer, David Gooch, selected it for her album More Hits of the Blitz that she became familiar with it. The album itself was a follow-up to Hits of the Blitz produced by Norman Newell. During the war years she joined ENSA and toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. In March 1944 she went to Shamsheernugger airfield to entertain the troops before the Battle of Kohima. Her host and lifelong friend Captain Bernard Holden recalled "her courage and her contribution to morale". In 1985 it was announced that she would receive the Burma Star for entertaining British guerrilla units in Japanese-occupied Burma. She is one of the last surviving major entertainers of the war years.

Post-war career Lynn's "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" became the first record by a British performer to top the charts in the United States, remaining there for nine weeks. She also appeared regularly for a time on Tallulah Bankhead's US radio programme, The Big Show. "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", along with "The Homing Waltz" and "Forget-Me-Not", gave Lynn a remarkable three entries on the first UK Singles Chart, a top 12 (which actually contained 15 songs owing to tied positions). Her popularity continued in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954 which she co-wrote with Gordon Melville Rees. In 1960 she left Decca Records after nearly 25 years, and joined EMI. She recorded for EMI's Columbia, MGM and HMV labels.

In 1967, she recorded "It Hurts To Say Goodbye", a song which hit the top 10 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart." Vera Lynn was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions, in October 1957 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre, and in December 1978, for an episode which was broadcast on 1 January 1979, when Andrews surprised her at the Cafe Royal, London. She hosted her own variety series on BBC1 in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was a frequent guest on other variety shows, notably the 1972 Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show. In 1972 she was a key performer in the BBC anniversary programme Fifty Years of Music. In 1976 she hosted the BBC's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating the pop music hits of the period 1952–1976 to commemorate the start of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee year.

For ITV she presented a 1977 TV special to launch her album Vera Lynn in Nashville, which included pop songs of the 1960s and country songs. The Royal Variety Performance included appearances by Vera Lynn on four occasions: 1960, 1975, 1986 and 1990. Lynn was also interviewed about her role in entertaining the troops in the India Burma Theatre, for The World at War series in 1974. Lynn is also notable for being the only artist to have a chart span on the British single and album charts reaching from the chart's inception to the 21st century – in 1952 having three singles in the first ever singles chart, compiled by New Musical Express, and most recently having a No. 1 album with We'll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn.

Honours Lynn was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1969 New Year Honours "for services to the Royal Air Forces Association and other charities", and promoted to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours "for charitable services". She was made an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (OStJ) in 1998 and, in 2000, Dame Vera received a special "Spirit of the 20th Century" Award. A street named in her honour, Vera Lynn Close, is situated in Forest Gate, London. A preserved example of the WD Austerity 2-10-0 class of steam locomotives at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is named "Dame Vera Lynn". The English rock band Pink Floyd released in 1979 a song titled Vera, which makes reference to Lynn. Charity work In 1953 Lynn formed the cerebral palsy charity SOS (The Stars Organisation for Spastics) and became its chairperson.

The Vera Lynn Charity Breast Cancer Research Trust was founded in 1976, with Lynn its chairperson and later its president. In 2002 Lynn became president of the cerebral palsy charity The Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy, and hosted a celebrity concert on its behalf at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. On 19 August 2008 Lynn became the Patron of the Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for ALL, a charitable not-for-profit organisation which helps those affected by war. On 16 November 2010 Dame Vera Lynn became Patron of The Dover War Memorial Project, a voluntary not-for-profit group remembering the Fallen from Dover, Kent, England. On 26 November 2010 she became Patron of the UK registered charity Projects to Support Refugees from Burma / Help 4 Forgotten Allies. Help 4 Forgotten Allies provides annual grants to ex-servicemen, recruited by the British from the Karen and Karenni ethnic minorities. Living in Burma, they fought fiercely against the Japanese alongside the British, but were later persecuted for their British affiliations and struggle for independence.

Many had to flee Burma and have lived in camps in great poverty on the Thai-Burma border for decades, deprived of freedom and basic necessities in their old age. Dame Vera feels the British have a moral duty to support those who fought alongside the British soldiers against the Japanese. "Anybody who helped us during that war, if they served with us, they should be entitled to a pension." In 2013, she joined a PETA campaign against pigeon racing, stating that the sport was "utterly cruel." Later years Lynn sang outside Buckingham Palace in 1995 in a ceremony that marked the golden jubilee of VE Day. This was her last known public performance. The United Kingdom's VE Day Diamond Jubilee ceremonies in 2005 included a concert in Trafalgar Square, London, in which Lynn made an unannounced appearance. She made a speech praising the veterans and calling upon the younger generation always to remember their sacrifice and joined in with a few bars of "We'll Meet Again". Following that year's Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, Dame Vera encouraged the Welsh mezzo-soprano singer Katherine Jenkins to assume the mantle of "Forces' Sweetheart".

In her speech Lynn said, "These boys gave their lives and some came home badly injured, and for some families life would never be the same. We should always remember, we should never forget, and we should teach the children to remember." In September 2008 Lynn helped launch a new social history recording website, "The Times of My Life", at the Cabinet War Rooms in London. On 3 September 2009 Andrew Castle hosted Lynn on GMTV to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Britain's declaring war on Germany. At the end of the interview she sang a verse from "We'll Meet Again," at Castle's request. Her autobiography Some Sunny Day was published in August 2009, when Lynn was 92. She had written two previous memoirs: Vocal Refrain (1975) and We'll Meet Again (1989). In February 2009, it was reported that Lynn was suing the British National Party (BNP) for using "the White Cliffs of Dover" on an anti-immigration album without her permission. Her lawyer claimed the album seemed to link Lynn, who does not align with any political party, to the party's views by association.

In September 2009 Lynn became the oldest living artist to make it into No. 1 in the British album chart, at the age of 92, passing such veterans of music as American jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong and French singer Charles Aznavour. Her collection We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn entered the chart at number 20 on 30 August, and then climbed to number 2 the following week, before reaching the top position, outselling both the Arctic Monkeys and the Beatles. In its third week the album went gold with sales of over 100,000. In August 2014, Lynn was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Personal life In 1941 Lynn married Harry Lewis, a clarinetist and saxophonist, whom she had met two years earlier. They had one child, Virginia Penelope Anne Lewis. Harry Lewis died in 1999. Lynn has lived in Ditchling in Sussex since the early 1960s.

(Source: Wikipedia) Vera Lynn Biography Vera Lynn Biography Find Vera Lynn on Amazon.com Born Vera Margaret Welch on March 20, 1917, in East Ham, London, England; married Harry Lewis (a clarinetist), 1941 (died, 1990s); children: a daughter, Virginia Penelope Ann. Education: Attended Brampton Road School, East Ham, London. Addresses: Home--Ditchling, East Sussex, United Kingdom. Vera Lynn was the most popular singer of World War II-era Britain, known during and after the war as the Forces' Sweetheart. The nickname was an apt one, for Lynn helped raise morale during the war effort by virtue of a down-to-earth quality that reminded servicemen of those they had left behind at home. Lynn had her own British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio program, and her popularity was phenomenal. Welsh-born comedian and Goon Show star Harry Secombe was once quoted in London's Independent newspaper as saying, "Churchill didn't beat the Nazis.

Vera sang them to death." Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch in the East Ham section of London's blue-collar East End on March 20, 1917. Lynn, her stage surname, was her grandmother's maiden name. Her father was a plumber, and her natural accent, only temporarily modified while she was a star, was Cockney. When she was seven, Lynn performed at an East End club, and she made singing and dancing a full-time occupation as soon as she could. At eleven she dropped out of school and began touring Britain year-round with a music hall variety show. By 1933 Lynn had begun performing as a soloist. With a sweet voice, a hint of vulnerability, and an unusual un-starlike self-effacing quality, she quickly got the attention of the British public. "I was never a glamor girl. I was the girl next door," Lynn told Australia's Courier-Mail. She began to get jobs fronting top British society orchestras, genteel groups still barely touched by the spirit of jazz and Broadway song.

In 1935 she made her radio debut with the Joe Loss orchestra, and two years later she landed a weekly slot on Life from Mayfair, an Ambrose Orchestra program beloved among Britons from the Prince of Wales on down. It was no surprise when Lynn came out on top in a 1939 Daily Express poll where British servicemen were asked to name their favorite musical performers, even though Lynn later recalled that she was flabbergasted. She was dubbed the Forces' Sweetheart as a result. The bond British soldiers felt with Lynn grew stronger as World War II intensified and they were scattered across the globe. Lynn married musician Harry Lewis in 1941. The relationship got off to an unpromising start. "I don't think I thought much of him at first. He wooed me with chewing gum," Lynn told London's Guardian newspaper. But the marriage lasted 58 years, until Lewis's death in the late 1990s. For much of the singer's career, Lewis served as her manager. In 1941 Lynn was given her own BBC radio show, Sincerely Yours.

It was an instant success, not only in Britain but on every worldwide battleground the BBC reached via shortwave radio. Lynn performed the songs that became emblematic of World War II: "White Cliffs of Dover" and "We'll Meet Again." The latter became a wartime classic, of the sort that combines nostalgia with a looming sense of threat ("We'll meet again. Don't know where, don't know when ..."). The latter song, introduced by Lynn with the Ambrose Orchestra in 1939, became the title track of one of three films she starred in during the war years. Sincerely Yours remained on the air until 1947. In 1944, with the global war at its height, Lynn undertook a tour to entertain British troops in Egypt, India, and Burma. In later years she would express her amusement when Spice Girl Geri Halliwell demanded a refrigerator full of soymilk before performing for soldiers bound for Iraq. "She's lucky to be somewhere there is a fridge," she told the Guardian, recalling her stays in grass huts with a bucket of water for a shower. But the trip to distant Burma was worth it.

"I remember one of the boys saying, 'Home can't be that far away, 'cause you're here,'" she told the Guardian. "It shortened the distance somehow." Lynn's popularity easily survived the wartime years. After peace came, she and Lewis had a daughter, Virginia, but Lynn soon returned to performing. She toured all over the British Commonwealth and appeared in a Las Vegas cabaret and on radio in the United States as a guest on the Big Show program hosted by actress Tallulah Bankhead. She gave eight command performances for the British royal family, and her most successful single recording came, not during the war, but in 1951 with "Auf Wiederseh'n," a song ironically enough with a German theme. That recording brought Lynn to the top of the charts in the United States, making her the first English performer to reach that level. Telling the Courier-Mail that "I don't live in the past even though I have never been allowed to forget it," she experimented with newer pop styles and had some success in the 1970s with a cover of Abba's "Thank You for the Music." But audiences mostly wanted to hear her wartime classics.

Moving with her family to the small town of Ditchling in England's East Sussex region, Lynn threw herself into projects of various kinds. She led an activist group that tried to restrict heavy truck traffic in the historic area, and she was a reliable choice when it came to in-person and broadcast fundraising appeals. She remained especially interested in the problems of British war veterans, working in the 1990s for Tribute and Promise, an umbrella group of 130 charities working to aid the war generation. In 1992 she founded the Dame Vera Lynn School for Parents and Handicapped Children. Two years later, a plan to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France with such frivolous events as a Spam-cooking competition was quickly scotched after she raised her voice in protest. Lynn's numerous honors in later life included elevation to the Order of the British Empire in 1959 and to the rank of Dame of the British Empire in 1975, as well as such novelties as the Show Business Personality Award from the Grand Order of Water Rats.

She took tea with the Queen and celebrated her 80th birthday at a reception with Princess Margaret, and she sponsored an organization of London taxi drivers who gave free rides to veterans. In 2000, six decades after becoming the Forces' Sweetheart, Lynn came out on top in another nationwide British poll: she was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the twentieth century. by James M. Manheim Vera Lynn's Career Began performing at age seven; toured British music halls, late 1920s and early 1930s; performed with Joe Loss Orchestra, c. 1935; performed with Charlie Kunz Orchestra; performed with Ambrose Orchestra on nationwide British radio show Life from Mayfair, 1937-40; voted British Forces' Sweetheart in Daily Express newspaper poll, 1939; star of own radio show, Sincerely Yours, c. 1940-47; performed for British forces in Egypt, India, and Burma during World War II; continued to perform after war; recorded "Auf Wiederseh'n," which became the first recording by an English artist to top U.S.

charts, 1951; involved with British veterans' causes, 1960s--; founded Dame Vera Lynn School for Parents and Handicapped Children, 1992. Vera Lynn's Awards Order of the British Empire, 1959; Dame of the British Empire, 1975; Spirit of the 20th Century Award, 2000. Famous Works Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia), January 26, 1991. Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Australia), September 5, 1989. Guardian (London, England), October 11, 2001, Features section, p. 14. Independent (London, England), April 21, 1994, p. 1; May 6, 1995, p. Comment-15. Irish Times, May 6, 1995, p. 2. Rocky Mountain News, May 2, 1995, p. A50. Scotsman October 5, 1998, p.

1; March 24, 2000, p. 2. Online "Hero of the South East," BBC, (March 30, 2005). "Vera Lynn," All Music Guide, (March 30, 2005). "Vera Lynn," History Learning Site, (March 30, 2005). Cancel or over 4 years ago I love listening to songs from 1930 - 1950's which of course include Vera Lynn. Was very happy to acquire her CD recently (the Very Best of Vera Lynn) and was extremely happy to know we share a birthday, just a few years apart. Love you little fishy (Pisces) about 5 years ago History will recall her many many years more than any other entertainer whoever lived either here in the US or overseas.Her legend will live as long as the heros of WWII.God bless her and what she did for the war effort of Engand and its brave men.God bless you Vera Lynn.I only wish I could meet you in person.Happy Birthday Mar.20,2012 and many more. about 5 years ago HI.

WE GREW UP IN CANADA WATCHING THE BRITISH WAR TIME MOVIES AS LATE MOVIES ON THE TELEVISION. WHILE SURFING EBAY.UK, I CAME ACROSS THE DAILY TIMES RELEASE OF ABOUT 15 OR SO OF MY OLD FAVORITES. I CONTINUE TO WATCH FOR SHIPYARD SALLY, BUT AMONG MY COLLECTION IS A TV PROGRAM BROADCAST IN 1983 OF DAME VERAS TRIP TO VANCOUVER WHERE SHE SANG TO THE CANADIAN VETS. SHE WAS IN VERY FINE VOICE. EVERY YEAR SINCE THEN I'VE WATCHED FOR IT BUT IT NEVER REPEATED. I'VE MOVED IT OVER TO SEVERAL DVDS TO PRESERVE IT. AT LEAST IT IS STILL AVAILABLE TO ME. BEST REGARDS . JACK about 5 years ago Well I never! Just discovered that Vera and I are second cousins!!! Her grandfather Herbert John Welch born 19/08/1869 and my grandfather William Earnest Welch born 25/04/1867 were brothers !!!! My father William Reginald Welch and her father Henry Welch were first cousins.

How extraordinary - does anyone know how i would contact Dame Vera Lynn to let her know? Mildred Joy Welch born 30/09/1932 over 5 years ago turns out Vera is my great second cousin i think because she is my dads mums cousin... about 6 years ago I believe I may be related to Dame Vera through my mother, whose maternal grandfather was Henry Lynn. Dame Vera took her grandmother's name when she became a singer and there is a strong physical resemblance between her and my own mother at the age of nearly ninety when she died. over 6 years ago Ashliegh, can I say I found out she is like my grandads auntie or something as well haha...wierd huh? over 6 years ago In 1952 I was doing my National Service in the RAF. In June I was at HQ London District, Great Scotland Yard, just off Whitehall and we were asked for volunteers to sing as a "choir" with Vera for a record. The recording was on the very day of my sister's wedding, I think 8th May 1952! To my great regret, therefore, I could not sing on a record with Vera Lynn.

For the sake of my sister and myself, can anyone please tell me which songs were recorded on that day? It would be lovely to buy the record, if there was one coming out of that session, as a great souvenir for my sister. Regards, Brian over 6 years ago simply the greatest british recording artiste, i have loads of her cd's and vinyl albums too. i play dame vera every day. when i was a 10 year old i met the great lady after a sunday concert at the opera house blackpool, programme signed for me plus a kiss on the cheek. watching dame vera that evening was anne shelton and winifred atwell over 6 years ago I contend that anyone who isn't deeply moved by hearing Vera Lynn sing "We'll Meet Again" should be declared legally dead! As a kid in West Texas, I followed the war in the newspapers and newsreels and especially on the radio, where I heard Churchill's matchless speeches through the transatlantic static, thrilled to the accounts of the defiance of Britain and the courage of the outnumbered RAF pilots during the Blitz, celebrated the rescues from Dunkirk -- and discovered Vera Lynn's great songs.

She, like Glenn Miller, Jo Stafford, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" came to symbolize our resolve to support our troops, defeat the Axis and establish (we thought) a peaceful and democratic world. So, many sincere thanks, Dame Vera. I only wish that I could express my gratitude in person. Joseph Benham Kerrville TX USA over 6 years ago i am a hugee fan of Vera... ROCK ON almost 7 years ago I was 14 years old when I heard the song "It Hurts to say Goodbye" sometime in the 60's a very sentimental one I love that song, it reminisces the days when I was young. With our new technology today it was only now that I saw the face to discover the beautiful lady with a beautiful voice who sing my very favorite song. almost 7 years ago I was 14 years old when I heard the song "It Hurts to say Goodbye" sometime in the 60's a very sentimental one I love that song, it reminisces the days when I was young.

With our new technology today it was only now that I saw the face to discover the beautiful lady with a beautiful voice who sing my very favorite song. about 7 years ago I was 11 years old (1965)in Denmark, where I'm from, visiting my mother's aunt, when she rushed to the radio to turn it up. You were singing "Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye". She was singing and dancing along with you and the tune has stayed with me ever since and represents a very happy time. Thank you for all that you mean to so many people, still, after all this time. about 7 years ago My Dad came over from Scotland at the age of 13 and they sang We'll meet again to them. He remembers it like it was yesterday. over 7 years ago Vera , although living in Brazil and being 48 years old I have all yours records... you are fantastic, thank you for everything you have made for the soldiers that save us from a new dark age. over 7 years ago During the war years my mother`s sister, Priscilla Wise sang on the same bill a couple of times with Vera Lynn. She was almost baritone.

I remember my aunt tell who ever would listen what a wonderful person she was to work with. Oh for more people like you in the world today. over 7 years ago My Dad used to work for a printers in East Ham, called the 'Wakefield Press' not far from Upton Park. He was in charge of printing the Bill Posters for Vera to be put up outside the clubs where she was going to sing. This was before WW-II. He was 18 years old when he worked there. That would have made Vera 17 years old. This is the closest to knowing someone famous my Dad has ever got. Naturally he has followed her through her books, films and music. Although he had met her several times at the printers, she never knew his name. Maybe she would remember the printers??? and so would remember him too. My Dad is still alive (93 years old) and is enjoying reading her current autobiography. over 7 years ago Vera, I would like to thank you for all you have done for all of our soldiers! (My Grandfather and son included)!

My Mother asked me to help her find a CD for her (We'll Meet Again)and since then I have listened to you on my computer and what a wonderful voice you have. Hat's off to you and I wish you a happy and wonderful life! Kathy over 7 years ago Not old enough to remember the war years but do remember their impact on all families on 'Both' sides. And while my own family may have listened to and loved Marlene Dietrich, just as much they listened to and loved Vera Lynn as I do too... even today. The only singer who brings a sweet tear to our eyes. The world would have been a poorer place without her and she remains(I have no doubt), one of the world's most loved, of all people. over 7 years ago Radionomy | Listen to Vera Lynn radio stations for free Please sign in to use this functionality Vera Lynn Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917), widely known as "The Forces' Sweetheart" is an English singer, songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during the Second World War.During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops.

The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England".She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and her UK Number one single "My Son, My Son".In 2009 she became the oldest living artist to make it to No. 1 on the British album chart, at the age of 92. She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children and breast cancer. She is still held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the twentieth century.Early lifeVera Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917 in East Ham, in what was then the county of Essex, now East London. When she began performing publicly at the age of seven, she adopted her grandmother's maiden name (Lynn) as her stage name.

Her first radio broadcast, with the Joe Loss Orchestra, was in 1935. At this point she was being featured on records released by dance bands including those of Loss and of Charlie Kunz. In 1936 her first solo record was released on the Crown label, "Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire". This label was absorbed by Decca Records in 1938. After a short stint with Loss she stayed with Kunz for a few years during which she recorded several standard musical pieces. In 1937, she moved to the aristocrat of British dance bands, Bert Ambrose.In 1939, during the Phoney War, the Daily Express asked British servicemen to name their favourite musical performers: Vera Lynn came out on top and as a result became known as 'the Forces' Sweetheart'.In 1941, during the darkest days of the Second World War, Lynn began her own radio programme, Sincerely Yours, sending messages to British troops serving abroad. She and her quartet performed songs most requested by the soldiers.

Lynn also visited hospitals to interview new mothers and send personal messages to their husbands overseas.She is best known for her 1942 recording of the popular song "We'll Meet Again", written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles; the nostalgic lyrics ("We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day") were very popular during the war and made the song one of its emblematic hits. She also appeared in the 1943 film of that name. Her other great wartime hit was "The White Cliffs of Dover", words by Nat Burton, music by Walter Kent. Contrary to later reports, she neither sang nor recorded "Rose of England" during this time and it was only in 1966 when her producer, David Gooch, selected it for her album More Hits of the Blitz that she became familiar with it.

The album itself was a follow-up to Hits of the Blitz produced by Norman Newell.During the war years she joined ENSA and toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops.In March 1944 she went to Shamsheernugger airfield to entertain the troops before the Battle of Kohima. Her host and lifelong friend Captain Bernard Holden recalled 'her courage and her contribution to morale'. In 1985 it was announced that she would receive the Burma Star for entertaining British guerrilla units in Japanese-occupied Burma. She is one of the last surviving major entertainers of the war years.Post-war careerLynn's Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart became the first record by a British performer to top the charts in the United States, remaining there for nine weeks. She also appeared regularly for a time on Tallulah Bankhead's U.S. radio programme, The Big Show.

"Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", along with "The Homing Waltz" and "Forget-Me-Not", gave Lynn a remarkable three entries on the first UK Singles Chart, a top 12 (which actually contained 15 songs owing to tied positions).Her popularity continued in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954 which she co-wrote with Gordon Melville Rees. In 1960 she left Decca Records after nearly 25 years, and joined EMI. She recorded for EMI's Columbia, MGM and HMV labels.

In 1967, she recorded "It Hurts To Say Goodbye", a song which hit the top 10 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart."Vera Lynn was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions, in October 1957 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre, and in December 1978, for an episode which was broadcast on 1 January 1979, when Andrews surprised her at the Cafe Royal, London.She hosted her own variety series on BBC1 in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was a frequent guest on other variety shows, notably The 1972 Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show. In 1972 she was a key performer in the BBC anniversary programme Fifty Years Of Music. In 1976 she hosted the BBC's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating the pop music hits of the period 1952-1976 to commemorate the start of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee year.

For ITV she presented a 1977 TV special to launch her album Vera Lynn in Nashville, which included pop songs of the 1960s and country songs.The Royal Variety Performance included appearances by Vera Lynn on four occasions: 1960, 1975, 1986 and 1990.

Lynn was also interviewed about her role in entertaining the troops in the India Burma Theatre, for The World at War series in 1974.Lynn is also notable for being the only artist to have a chart span on the British single and album charts reaching from the chart's inception to the 21st century — in 1952 having three singles in the first ever singles chart, complied by New Musical Express, and most recently having a #1 album with We'll Meet Again — The Very Best Of Vera Lynn (see below).HonoursLynn was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1969 New Year Honours "for services to the Royal Air Forces Association and other charities", and promoted to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours "for charitable services". She was made an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (OStJ) in 1998 and, in 2000, Dame Vera received a special "Spirit of the 20th Century" Award.

A street named in her honour, Vera Lynn Close, is situated in Forest Gate, London.Charity workIn 1953 Lynn formed the cerebral palsy charity SOS (The Stars Organisation for Spastics) and became its chairperson.The Vera Lynn Charity Breast Cancer Research Trust was founded in 1976, with Lynn its chairperson and later its president.In 2002 Lynn became president of the cerebral palsy charity The Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy, and hosted a celebrity concert on its behalf at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.On 19 August 2008 Lynn became the Patron of the Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for ALL, a charitable not-for-profit organisation which helps those affected by war.On 16 November 2010 Dame Vera Lynn became Patron of The Dover War Memorial Project, a voluntary not-for-profit group remembering the Fallen from Dover, Kent, England.On the 26th of November 2010 she became Patron of the UK registered charity Projects to Support Refugees from Burma / Help 4 Forgotten Allies. Help 4 Forgotten Allies provides annual grants to ex-servicemen, recruited by the British from the Karen and Karenni ethnic minorities.

Living in Burma, they fought fiercely against the Japanese alongside the British, but were later persecuted for their British affiliations and struggle for independence. Many had to flee Burma and have lived in camps in great poverty on the Thai-Burma border for decades, deprived of freedom and basic necessities in their old age. Dame Vera feels the British have a moral duty to support those who fought alongside the British soldiers against the Japanese. 'Anybody who helped us during that war, if they served with us, they should be entitled to a pension.'In 2013, she joined a PETA campaign against pigeon racing, stating that the sport was "utterly cruel."Later yearsLynn sang outside Buckingham Palace in 1995 in a ceremony that marked the golden jubilee of VE Day. This was her last known public performance.The United Kingdom's VE Day Diamond Jubilee ceremonies in 2005 included a concert in Trafalgar Square, London, in which Lynn made an unannounced appearance. She made a speech praising the veterans and calling upon the younger generation always to remember their sacrifice and joined in with a few bars of "We'll Meet Again".

Following that year's Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, Dame Vera encouraged the Welsh mezzo-soprano singer Katherine Jenkins to assume the mantle of "Forces' Sweetheart".In her speech Lynn said, "These boys gave their lives and some came home badly injured, and for some families life would never be the same. We should always remember, we should never forget, and we should teach the children to remember."In September 2008 Lynn helped launch a new social history recording website, "The Times of My Life", at the Cabinet War Rooms in London.On 3 September 2009 Andrew Castle hosted Lynn on GMTV to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Britain's declaring war on Germany. At the end of the interview she sang a verse from "We'll Meet Again," at Castle's request.Her autobiography Some Sunny Day was published in August 2009, when Lynn was 92.

She had written two previous memoirs: Vocal Refrain (1975) and We'll Meet Again (1989).On 18 February 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that Lynn was suing the British National Party (BNP) for using "the White Cliffs of Dover" on an anti-immigration album without her permission. Her lawyer claimed the album seemed to link Lynn, who does not align with any political party, to the party's views by association.On 13 September 2009 Lynn became the oldest living artist to make it into No. 1 in the British album chart, at the age of 92, passing such veterans of music as American jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong and French singer Charles Aznavour. Her collection We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn entered the chart at number 20 on 30 August, and then climbed to number 2 the following week, before reaching the top position, outselling both the Arctic Monkeys and the Beatles.

In its third week the album went gold with sales of over 100,000.Personal lifeIn 1941 Lynn married Harry Lewis, a clarinetist and saxophonist, whom she had met two years earlier. They had one child, Virginia Penelope Anne Lewis. Harry Lewis died in 1999.Lynn has lived in Ditchling in Sussex since the early 1960s.Recording careerVera Lynn made her solo recording debut with the song "Up The Wooden Hill To Bedfordshire" in February 1936. The 9" 78rpm single was issued on the Crown Records label, which went on to release a total of 8 singles recorded by Vera Lynn and Charles Smart on organ. Early recordings include "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Red Sails in the Sunset".In 1938 the Decca label took over control of the British Crown label and the UK based Rex label, they had also issued early singles from Lynn in 1937, including "Harbour Lights".

In late September 1939 Vera Lynn first recorded a song that continues to be associated with her: We'll Meet Again was originally recorded with Arthur Young on the Novachord. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the Decca label issued all of Vera Lynn's records, including several recorded with Mantovani and His Orchestra in 1942 and with Robert Farnon, from the late 1940s. Firstly they were only available as 78rpm singles, which only feature two songs an A and a B-side. In the mid-1950s Decca issued several EP singles, which featured between two and four recordings per side, such as Vera Lynn's Party Sing Song from 1954 and singles were issued on two formats the known 78prm 10" and the recently introduced 45rpm 7" single.

In the late 1950s Lynn recorded four albums at Decca, the first; Vera Lynn Concert remains her only live recording ever to be issued on vinyl.In 1960, after more than 20 years at Decca Records, Lynn signed to the US based MGM Records, in the UK her recordings were distributed by the His Masters Voice label, later EMI Records, several albums and stand alone singles were recorded with Geoff Love & His Orchestra, Norman Newell also took over as Lynn's producer in this period and remained with her until her 1976 Christmas with Vera Lynn. Recording at EMI Records up until 1977, Lynn released thirteen albums with material as diverse as traditional Hymns, pop and country songs, as well as re-recording many of her known songs from the 1940s for the albums Hits of the Blitz (1966), More Hits of the Blitz and Vera Lynn Remembers - The World at War (1974).

In the 1980s two albums of contemporary pop songs were recorded at the Pye Records label, both included covers of songs previously recorded by such artists as Abba and Barry Manilow.In 1982 a stand alone single "I Love This Land" (Falklands War song) was issued and in 1984 Horatio Nelson Records issued Vera Lynn's last recordings made before her retirement. The album Vera Lynn Remembers, produced by Harry Lewis, Lynn's husband, features 17 re-recordings of songs known and associated with Vera Lynn over her 50 year recording career.On 20 March 2014, her 97th birthday, Lynn announced that she was releasing a new album Vera Lynn: National Treasure - The Ultimate Collection. The album will be released on 2 June, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which occurs four days later. cc-by-sa Vera Lynn’s Biography — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm Listeners Biography Vera Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch in East Ham, London(20 March 1917). Later she adopted her grandmother's maiden name Lynn as her stage name.

She began singing at the age of seven. Her first radio broadcast, with the Joe Loss Orchestra, was made in 1935. At this point she was being featured on records released by dance bands including Loss's and Charlie Kunz's. In 1936 she made her first solo record on the Crown label, "Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire". This label was soon swallowed up by Decca. After a short stint with Loss she stayed with Kunz for a few years during which she waxed several standards. Lynn married clarinettist and saxophonist Harry Lewis in 1939, the year World War II broke out. In 1940 she began her own radio series, "Sincerely Yours", sending messages to British troops stationed abroad. In this radio show she and a quartet performed the songs most requested to her by soldiers stationed abroad. She also went into hospitals to interview new mothers and send messages to their husbands overseas. She toured Burma and gave outdoor concerts for soldiers. In 1942 she recorded the Ross Parker/Hughie Charles song "We'll Meet Again" while making the film of the same name.

The nostalgic lyrics ("We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day") had a great appeal to the many people separated from loved ones during the war, and it became one of the emblematic songs of the wartime period. After the war, her "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" became the first record by a British artist to top the US charts, doing so for nine weeks, and she appeared regularly on Tallulah Bankhead's US radio programme "The Big Show". "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", along with "The Homing Waltz" and "Forget-Me-Not" gave Lynn a remarkable three entries on the first UK Singles Chart, a top 12 (which contained 15 songs owing to tied positions). Lynn's career flourished in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954. It was co-written by Eddie Calvert. In early 1960, Lynn left Decca Records, with whom she had been for nearly 25 years, and joined EMI.

There, she recorded for EMI's Columbia, MGM and HMV subsidiaries. In 2009, Lynn became the oldest living woman to ever top the official UK album chart. Her Decca issued hits collection, 'We'll Meet Again', reached the number one spot on the UK album chart on Sunday 13th September 2009. - Vera Lynn | English singer | Britannica.com English singer Alternative Titles: Dame Vera Lynn, Vera Margaret Welch Vera Lynn Eydie Gormé Vera Lynn, in full Dame Vera Lynn, byname of Vera Margaret Welch (born March 20, 1917, East Ham, Essex, [now Greater London], Eng.), English singer whose sentimental material and wholesome stage persona endeared her to the public during World War II . Broadcasts of her songs of love and longing were particularly resonant with members of the military fighting abroad, which led to her nickname, “the forces’ sweetheart.” Vera Lynn, 1989. © David Fowler/Shutterstock.com Welch, who was born into a working-class family outside London, began singing at men’s clubs by age seven.

At 11 she assumed her grandmother’s maiden name (Lynn) and joined Madame Harris’s Kracker Kabaret Kids, a singing troupe. After leaving school at age 14, Lynn was spotted by a booking agent who found work for her at parties and events. In 1935 she sang the refrain on several big band records and began peforming on the radio with the Joe Loss Orchestra and then the Casani Club Band. She also recorded several songs with the Casani Club Band and released her first solo recording, “ Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire, ” in 1936. Lynn teamed with bandleader Benjamin (“Bert”) Ambrose in 1937 and performed on his radio program, Life from Mayfair, until 1940. In late 1939 she premiered what would become her trademark song—“ We’ll Meet Again, ” written earlier that year by two young composers—on the show. The wistful tune, as interpreted by Lynn in her characteristic low pitch, articulated the longings of families and lovers separated by the war and thus became a touchstone to many.

Lynn was given her own BBC radio show, Sincerely Yours, Vera Lynn, in November 1941. The following year she recorded “ The White Cliffs of Dover, ” another song that for many came to epitomize the sentiment of the war years. In 1942 she appeared in the film We’ll Meet Again, in which she portrayed a character based on herself. In 1944 Lynn joined the Entertainment National Services Association (ENSA) and spent the spring and summer performing for troops stationed in Egypt, India, and Burma (Myanmar). After the war, Lynn toured widely in Europe and continued to broadcast her radio program for several years. When Decca Records, which released most of her material, issued “ Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart ” in the United States in 1952, she became the first English artist to hit number one on the American record charts; “ My Son, My Son ” (1954) was among her later hits. After leaving Decca in 1960 for EMI, Lynn continued to tour abroad. She performed less frequently after developing emphysema toward the end of the decade, though compilations of her material still sold well.

In 2009 she became the oldest-living artist to have a number one album in England with We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn. Britannica Stories Obituary of Vera Lynn | Wiki Obits Obituary of Vera Lynn Vera Lynn This article is not good. Please write the details of Vera Lynn's obit here. Please also tell us as much as you can about the biography stuff below. Vera Lynn (born on March 20th, 1917) is an Singer-Songwriter who was best known for something. Vera Lynn died on Wednesday January 18, 2017 and his death was because of a reason. Vera Lynn's Biography Stats: A Photo of Vera Lynn Full Name: Vera Margaret Welch Vera Lynn - YouTube Vera Lynn Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on May 3, 2010 Dame Vera Lynn, DBE (born Vera Margaret Welch on 20th March 1917) is an English singer whose career flourished during World War II. Nicknamed "The Forces' Sweetheart", the songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover". Category Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again - YouTube Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Sep 10, 2009 Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again Early life Vera Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917, in East Ham, then in Essex, now part of Greater London. Her father was a plumber and Vera Welch grew up with her parents' Cockney accent, which she has never abandoned. She began singing at the age of seven in a working men's club, and later adopted her grandmother's maiden name for her stage name.

Lynn's first radio broadcast was in 1935 with the Joe Loss Orchestra. She was already being featured on records released by dance bands, including Loss's and Charlie Kunz's. She made her first solo record on the Crown label in 1936, "Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire". (The label was soon bought out by Decca.) After a short time with Loss, she sang with Kunz, during which time she made several recordings. Lynn then moved to the dance band of Bert Ambrose. War years Lynn met clarinetist and saxophonist Harry Lewis, the man she would later marry, in 1939, the year World War II began. The following year, she began her own radio programme, Sincerely Yours, sending messages to British troops serving abroad. She and a quartet would perform songs most requested by the soldiers. Lynn also visited hospitals to interview new mothers and send personal messages to their husbands overseas. During the war years she would tour Egypt, India, Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. In 1942, Lynn recorded the Ross Parker/Hughie Charles song "We'll Meet Again", also appearing in the film of that name.

The nostalgic lyrics ("We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day") were very popular during the war and became one of the emblematic songs of the war. Contrary to later reports, she neither sang nor recorded the "Rose of England" during this time and it was only in 1966 when her producer, David Gooch, selected it for her album More Hits of the Blitz that she became familiar with it. The album itself was a follow up to Hits of the Blitz produced by Norman Newell. Post-war career Lynn's "Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart" became the first record by a British performer to top the charts in the United States, doing so for nine weeks. She also appeared regularly for a time on Tallulah Bankhead's U.S. radio programme, The Big Show. "Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart", along with "The Homing Waltz" and "Forget-Me-Not", gave Lynn a remarkable three entries on the first UK Singles Chart, a top 12 (which actually contained 15 songs owing to tied positions).

Lynn's career flourished in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954. Lynn co-wrote the song with Eddie Calvert. In early 1960, she left Decca Records after nearly 25 years, and joined EMI. She recorded for EMI's Columbia, MGM and HMV labels. She hit the top 10 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1967 with "It Hurts To Say Goodbye". Vera is also notable for being the only artist to have a chart span on the UK single and album charts reaching from the chart's inception to the 21st century - having three singles in the first ever singles chart, and most recently having a #2 album with We'll Meet Again - The Very Best Of Vera Lynn in September 2009. Category

Question: Who was born Vera Margaret Welsh on 20th March 1917?
Answer: Vera Lynne