Vera Lynn
Background information
Birth name	Vera Margaret Welch
Born	20 March 1917 (age 90) East Ham, London, England
Genre(s)	Traditional Pop
Years active	1935-1995
Label(s)	UK Decca, EMI

Dame Vera Lynn DBE (born 20 March 1917) is a retired British singer whose career flourished during World War II, when she was nicknamed "The Forces' Sweetheart". She is best known for the popular songs "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover". Lynn is one of the last surviving major entertainers of the war years. is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... East Ham is a place in the London Borough of Newham. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Traditional pop or Classic pop music denotes, in general, Western (and particularly American) popular music that either wholly predates the eruption of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising of the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Forces Sweetheart Nell McAndrew. ... Well Meet Again is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music written by Ross Parker and words by Hughie Charles. ... (Therell Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover was a popular wartime song made famous by Vera Lynn in her 1942 recording of the song, written by Walter Kent and Nat Burton in 1941. ...

Early life

Lynn was born Vera Margaret Welch on 20 March 1917 in East Ham, London. 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. She later moved to the aristocrat of British dance bands, Bert Ambrose. is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... East Ham is a place in the London Borough of Newham. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Joshua Alexander Loss or Joe Loss, musician, born 22 June 1909 in Bishopsgate, London. ... One of the great British dance band leaders of the 1930s, Charlie Kunz was born in Pennsylvania in 1886 but came to England in 1922 as a pianist in a small dance band. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... Bert Ambrose (Benjamin Baruch Ambrose) (September 15, 1896 - June 11, 1971), usually just known as Ambrose, was a British musician of the swing and dance band era. ...

War years

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 of 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. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Well Meet Again is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music written by Ross Parker and words by Hughie Charles. ...

Post-war career

After the war, her "Auf Wiedersehn 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 Wiedersehn 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). Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant. ... The UK Singles Chart is currently compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. ...

Lynn's career flourished in the 1950s, peaking with "My Son, My Son", a number-one hit in 1954. Lynn (who had one daughter) co-wrote the song with 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 labels. Albert Edward Calvert (15 March 1922) Had the first United Kingdom number one single in 1953 with Oh Mein Papa. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising of the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. ...

Lynn was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 1969 and a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1975. In 1976 a charity dedicated to funding breast cancer research was founded, Lynn being its chair and later its president [1]. She sang outside Buckingham Palace in 1995 in a ceremony marking the Golden Jubilee of VE Day. Lynn, then 78, decided to go out on a high as this is her last known public performance. In 2002 at the age of 85 she became the president of the cerebral palsy charity SOS and hosted a celebrity concert on their behalf at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ... Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial. ... Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he broadcast to the nation that the war with Germany had been won, 8 May 1945. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, which hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Recent years

The United Kingdom's VE Day ceremonies in 2005 included a concert in Trafalgar Square in which Vera Lynn made a surprise appearance. She made a speech praising the veterans and calling upon the younger generations always to remember their sacrifice and joined in with a bar or two of We'll Meet Again. Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) was May 8, 1945, the date when the Allies during the Second World War formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitlers Reich. ... Trafalgar Square viewed from the northeast corner. ...

In her speech she 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."

Recordings by Vera Lynn

• 1935

• "The General's Fast Asleep"; "No Regrets"; "When the Poppies Bloom Again"; "I'm in the Mood for Love" (Rex Records); "Sailing Home With The Tide" (Rex Records); "Thanks A Million" (Rex Records)

• 1936

• "Heart Of Gold" (Rex Records); "A Star Fell Out Of Heaven" (Rex Records); "Crying My Heart Out For You" (Rex Records); "It's Love Again" (Rex Records); "Did Your Mother Come From Ireland?" (Rex Records): "Have You Forgotten So Soon?" (Rex Records); "Everything Is Rhythm" (Rex Records)

• 1937

• "When My Dream Boat Comes Home" (Rex Records); "Goodnight, My Love" (Rex Records); "All Alone In Vienna" (Rex Records)

• 1939

• "We'll Meet Again"

• 1940

• "Careless"; *"Until You Fall in Love"; "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow"; "When You Wish upon a Star"; "Memories Live Longer Than Dreams"; "There'll Come Another Day"; "{There'll Be Bluebirds Over} The White Cliffs of Dover".

• 1941

• "Smilin' through"; "When They Sound the Last All Clear"; "Yours"; "My Sister and I"; "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire".

• 1942

• "You're in my Arms".

• 1948

• "You Can't Be True, Dear" (1948); "Again".

• 1952

• "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart"; "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)".

• 1954 onwards

• "My Son, My Son" (UK number 1, 1954); "The Homing Waltz"; "Forget Me Not"; "Windsor Waltz"; "Who Are We"; "A House With Love In It"; "The Faithful Hussar (Don't Cry My Love)"; "Travellin' Home"; Hits Of The Sixties (album); "By the Time I Get To Phoenix"; "Everybody's Talking"; "The Fool On The Hill".

• Albums recorded for EMI from 1960 onwards

• "Yours" 1961
• "As Time Goes By" 1961
• "Hits From The Blitz" 1962
• "Among My Souvenirs" 1964
• "More Hits Of The Blitz" 1966
• "Hits Of The 60's - My Way" 1970
• "Favourite Sacred Songs" 1972
• "Christmas With Vera Lynn" 1976
• "Vera Lynn In Nashville" 1977

In March 2007 EMI issue a 2CD set of all Vera Lynn's single only recordings from her EMI contract 1960-1977. Im in the Mood for Love is a popular song. ... Well Meet Again is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music written by Ross Parker and words by Hughie Charles. ... You Cant Be True, Dear is a popular song. ... Again is a popular song, recorded by many singers. ... Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart is a popular song. ... If You Love Me (Really Love Me) is a popular song. ...

Films

• We'll Meet Again (1942)
• Rhythm Serenade (1943)
• One Exciting Night (1944)

Trivia

• Vera released the Lynsey De Paul/Barry Blue penned song Don't You Remember When in 1976 as a single. The song showcased her vocal talents as well as had a nostalgic feel and featured backing vocals from Lynsey as well as tamborine by her boyfriend Ringo Starr.

• Pink Floyd wrote a song called "Vera" for their 1979 album The Wall as a reference to her and her song "We'll Meet Again" ; in the film based on the album, a Christmas song "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" by Vera Lynn is played over the opening credits ; the band also used her song "We'll Meet Again" as an introduction on their shows of the tour of this album. As well Roger Waters used the song during the introductions on his 2006-2007 world tour "Dark Side of The Moon Live". The song Vera was played during the show.

• She has written two autobiographies. "Vocal Refrain" in 1970, and "We'll Meet Again" in the early 1990s.

• Vera Lynn went to what is now called Brampton Primary School in Masterman Road, East Ham.

• Gary Numan recorded "War Songs" with lyrics "Old Men Love War Songs / Love Vera Lynn" on his 1982 album "I, Assassin".

• She is mentioned in the Travis song "U16 Girls".

• Vera Lynns or "Veras" is cockney rhyming slang for "skins", the name given to rolling papers used to make a tasty spliff. Popularized by the 1992 song "Ebeneezer Goode" by rave band Shamen. "Got any Veras? Lovely."

• Vera Lynn is mentioned in the Call of Duty 3 game by Treyarch. Her namesake is provided to two jeeps. "Vera" and "Lynn".

• Mike Myers sang The White Cliffs of Dover on an episode of Saturday Night Live.

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References

• Vera Lynn, Vocal Refrain, 1975, W.H. Allen, London.
• R. Cross, We'll Meet Again

External links

• Vera Lynn at the Internet Movie Database
• 2002 BBC article
• Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy