Six Years Ago Today, the Beloved World War II-Era Entertainer and Pink Floyd Muse Left Us at 103 Years Old

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? sang Roger Waters on “Vera”, a track on Pink Floyd’s sprawling 1979 opus The Wall. Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day? Vera, Vera, what has become of you?

Today, we’re answering that question. Vera Lynn was a national phenomenon in World War II-era England, whose tender ballads such as “We’ll Meet Again” and  “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover” buoyed the spirits of her fellow Britons during a particularly dark part of history.

Today, we’re exploring the life and legacy of Vera Lynn on the sixth anniversary of her death. On June 18, 2020, she died from pneumonia at the Princess Royal Hospital in West Sussex, England, at age 103.

The Humble Beginnings of Vera Lynn

Vera Margaret Welch was born on March 20, 1917, to a plumber father and dressmaker mother in East Ham, Essex, England.

Her onstage career started early, performing in East Ham workmen’s clubs by age 7. Four years later, Welch left school at age 11 to join a juvenile troupe called Madame Harris’s Kracker Kabaret Kids.

It was there that she took on the stage name Vera Lynn, adopting her maternal grandmother Margaret’s maiden name.

Lynn’s big break came in 1937, when the 20-year-old became the resident singer with the highly acclaimed British bandleader Bert Ambrose.

A Symbol of Hope in Wartime

In 1940, Vera Lynn launched her own BBC radio show, Sincerely Yours, which broadcast to British troops all over the world every Sunday night.

She read letters from the girlfriends, wives and mothers waiting for the troops at home. She also performed ballads like “We’ll Meet Again” (which she first recorded in 1939) and “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”.

Because the singing didn’t stop when the raids started, the latter became synonymous with bombs dropping on London.

Even in Nazi-occupied Europe, where listeners could face death for tuning into the BBC, Vera Lynn’s fans found a way.

“The Dutch used to listen to my programs in haystacks and hide themselves away,” she said. “They’d listen to the 9 o’clock news on Sunday night. It was their only link to the outside world.”

[RELATED: 5 Wartime-Era Songs from WWII]

Known as the Forces’ Sweetheart, Lynn didn’t limit her singing to the safety of the studio. She gave outdoor concerts for troops in Egypt, India, and Burma as part of the Entertainments National Service Association.

“Churchill didn’t beat the Nazis,” Welsh comedian Harry Secombe liked to joke. “Vera sang them to death.”

Featured image by McCabe/Express/Getty Images

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