Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn CH DBE (née Welch; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and actress. Lynn was born in East Ham, Essex. She began performing in public at age seven and she started using her grandmother's maiden name (Lynn) as her stage name.[1] Her first radio broadcast was in 1935 with the Joe Loss Orchestra. At this time she was being featured on records released by dance bands including those of Loss and of Charlie Kunz.[2]
Dame Vera Lynn | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vera Lynn in 1962 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vera Margaret Welch |
| Born | 20 March 1917 East Ham, Essex, England |
| Died | 18 June 2020 (aged 103) Ditchling, East Sussex, England |
| Genres | Traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 1935–2014 |
| Labels | UK Decca/London, HMV |
She was popular during World War II. Her best known songs are We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover.
Lynn worked a lot with charities for former military servicemen, disabled children, and breast cancer.[3] Veterans of the Second World War still admire her. She was named the Briton who best exemplified (the best example of) the spirit of the twentieth century, in 2000.[3]
Vera Lynn's album We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn went to #1 in the United Kingdom. This made her the oldest living artist to top the U.K. album charts.[4] The album is some of her recordings made for Decca Records. Lynn recorded for Decca between 1936 and 1959. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart on 13 September 2009. The album entered the chart at number 20 on 30 August. It then climbed to number 2 the following week, before reaching the top position.
The 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, ends with a world-ending war of atomic bombs. The scene uses Vera Lynn's song We'll Meet Again.
Lynn died on 18 June 2020 at the age of 103 in East Sussex.[5][6]
Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1961 | Yours |
| 1961 | As Time Goes By |
| 1962 | Hits Of The Blitz |
| 1964 | Among My Souvenirs |
| 1966 | More Hits Of The Blitz |
| 1970 | Hits Of The 60's — My Way |
| 1972 | Favourite Sacred Songs |
| 1976 | Christmas With Vera Lynn |
| 1977 | Vera Lynn In Nashville |
| 1981 | 20 Family Favourites |
| 1989 | We'll Meet Again |
| 2009 | We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn |
| 2010 | Unforgettable |
| 2014 | National Treasure – Ultimate Collection |
Movies
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | We'll Meet Again | Peggy Brown | |
| 1943 | Rhythm Serenade | Ann Martin | |
| 1944 | One Exciting Night | Vera Baker | |
| 1962 | Venus fra Vestø | Herself |
Vera Lynn Media
Dame Vera Lynnn Portrait
Dame Vera Lynn at the War and Peace Show 2009
Dame Vera Lynn's daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones and Ross Kolby in front of his portrait of Lynn at the unveiling ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on 13 January 2020.
Locomotive No. 3672 Dame Vera Lynn at North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
The ribbon of the War Medal, a British World War II military campaign medal, 32 millimetres wide with a 6½ millimetres wide red band, a 6½ millimetres wide blue band and a 2 millimetres wide white band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 2 millimetres wide red band.
The ribbon of the Burma Star, a British World War II military campaign medal, 32 millimetres wide with a 3½ millimetres wide Navy blue band, a 4 millimetres wide dark yellow band and a 3½ millimetres wide Navy blue band, repeated and separated by a 10 millimetres wide Army red band.
OBE (Civil) Ribbon
Order of Saint John ribbon bar. United Kingdom.
Order of the Companions of Honour Ribbon
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References
- ↑ Lynn, Vera (2009). Some Sunny Day. London: Harper Collins. pp. 12 and 43. ISBN 978-0-00-731815-5.
- ↑ Seidenberg, Steven; Sellar, Maurice; Jones, Lou (1995). You Must Remember This. Great Britain: Boxtree Limited. p. 132. ISBN 0-7522-1065-3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Vera Lynn Biography". Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ↑ Richard Simpson (14 September 2009). "Dame Vera Lynn, the new queen of the album charts at 92". Daily Mail (UK). Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ↑ "Forces' Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn dies aged 103". BBC News. 18 June 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53091856. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (18 June 2020). Vera Lynn, singer and 'forces' sweetheart', dies aged 103. London. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/18/dame-vera-lynn-dies-aged-103. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
Other websites
- Vera Lynn on IMDb
- Q&A with TIME Magazine in September 2009 Archived 2013-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy Archived 2015-08-10 at the Wayback Machine