Vera Lynn died on Thursday and with her something of England died too. She was 103 years old. Significantly, her name, Vera, meant truth.
She was just a singer but her voice was the very soundtrack of Britain's fightback in World War II. She sang for the troops and even flew over to Burma to provide a much needed lift for military personnel sent there to push back against the Japanese.
At my mother's funeral service at The East Riding Crematorium in September 2007, the last sound we heard was Vera Lynn singing "The White Cliffs of Dover". It was a special song for my mother and father for they were both in The Royal Air Force during World War II and the "bluebirds" referred to in the song anticipated returning aircraft when the war was finally over.
I remember sitting there in the crematorium, looking up at a beautiful stained glass window through which sunlight streamed and listening in silence to:-
There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see
Mum and Vera. They were of the same generation and many times I recall my mother singing that very song as she beat the Yorkshire pudding mixture in our kitchen or ironed her sons' shirts. For her it would have brought back memories of fliers she knew who had died and of a terrible war that wracked the entire planet like a coronavirus pandemic.
Vera was an ordinary girl from an ordinary home in East London. Her father was a plumber and her mother was a dressmaker. That was part of her appeal and to some extent explains her ability to communicate with ordinary men and women caught up in a war that was not of their making.
It is funny that when old people die, what we mostly remember is how they looked just before they arrived at death's dark door. I think it would often be far more appropriate to remember those people as they were in their prime. See Vera Lynn's signed postcard image at the top of this post. No doubt she signed it in the very middle of that terrible war when she was the nation's sweetheart.
And so we bid farewell Vera. As your song says, "Peace ever after". Let's hope so.
She epitomised the courage and determination of a generation who never gave up. I'm not sure how we would fare now or who would be the person suited to gee everybody up in times like that.
ReplyDeleteShe lived just a few miles from me in Ditchling in a beautiful house.
It's always sad when an icon dies but she will never be forgotten will she?
Briony
x
She's part of our history now. She deserves a paragraph or two forever more.
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DeleteVera Lynn is a legend, but we tend to look at the past through rose tinted glasses. My dad who served in North Africa and Italy always said how grateful they were for anyone who showed up for the ENSA shows, even Gracie Fields. He said he always preferred Marlene Dietrich's version of Lilli Marlene and most of the 'other ranks' [ie non officers] were fans of the US artists such as Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Helen Forrest. The WW2 nostalgia industry made Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn the 'stars' but the reality was a bit more nuanced.
ReplyDeleteThank you "mutikonka". In this instance I am marking the passing of a national legend but not through rose tinted glasses.
DeleteA great lady.
ReplyDeleteNot forgetting The Rations Book Song: "Whale meat again"😊.
I remember buying whale meat for my cat back in the 60's, don't think you can get it now.
Delete"Whale meat again!" is what eskimos sing before every meal.
DeleteI'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places.
ReplyDeleteDon't come up from behind and clout me.
DeleteShe always seemed to remain a down to earth person. A charming lady who made people smile through some dark times.
ReplyDeleteThat sums her up very well.
DeleteVera Lynn was significant to Americans and American soldiers, too. I think she clearly represented the free world they all fought to achieve.
ReplyDeleteAnd then in the '70s, on "The Wall," Pink Floyd had a song that asked, "Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? Remember how she said that we would meet again, some sunny day..." Which illustrated so strongly the disillusionment of that decade.
I didn't recall that reference so thanks for pointing it out Steve.
DeleteSo many of those that made up many of the memories from WWII are slowly slipping away. Although I wasn't born until after the war, I heard so much about it from my family that I almost feel like I lived then. You give a beautiful picture of the memories of Vera and of your dear Mum.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way - born just eight years after that war. There were still many bombsites in my nearest city - Kingston upon Hull.
DeleteShe served the country well for half a century
ReplyDeleteShe cared for her country and for the men and women who served it so well.
Delete"It is funny that when old people die, what we mostly remember is how they looked just before they arrived at death's dark door." I have a bit of a problem in that I have aphantasia but when I think of Vera Lynn I think of the young person I knew as a singer when I was a child. Going through my memory banks I think that I tend to think of my parents in the days when they were at their prime not when they were old. The same goes for most people I can think of off the top of my head. It makes me wonder why we should think of people in the way that we do when they die. Vera Lynn was an inspirer and a life force. She achieved that through personality and singing.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up "aphantasia". I didn't realise that some people have such issues with their visual memories. I guess we are all a little different.
DeleteVera Lynn helped very much in the war effort by making us feel we could get the job done..
ReplyDeleteEven in wartime, how the people "feel" is important.
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