Wartime star Dame Vera Lynn would want young people to help others

Yahoo

08-05-2025

The daughter of forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn has stressed the importance of 'duty' for young people and said her mother would have thought it is 'very important' they help others.
Dame Vera lifted troops' spirits with concerts in Egypt, India and Burma during the war in which she sang songs including The White Cliffs Of Dover and We'll Meet Again, which were heard at the Westminster Abbey service on Thursday.
She died in 2020 aged 103, having had a celebrated career as a singer and entertainer that spanned more than 90 years.
Her daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones was at the VE Day 80th anniversary party at the Royal Albert Hall when she spoke to the PA news agency.
Asked about lessons for the younger generation, Ms Lewis-Jones told PA: 'I think that if they can learn that duty is very important, that if you can do anything to help anybody please do so.
'It doesn't matter if it's Gertrude next door who needs her shopping done or whatever, but it's very, very important for the young people to help other people as much as possible'.
That is what her mother 'would have thought, and that's what I think as well', she added.
The Royal Albert Hall party, presented by the SSAFA Armed Forces charity in association with the Daily Mail, heard music from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra as well as a performance from Strictly Come Dancing star Nadiya Bychkova.
Ms Lewis-Jones told PA: 'Obviously this is an extremely, extremely important day – it should always be remembered.
'Especially for the young people to remember what people sacrificed for them for today, and the freedoms that we've got now are purely due to the people that not only fought, and did a lot of other things in the background of the war, but also afterwards.'
She added: '80th anniversary, you know there won't be a lot of veterans left for the next 10 years so it's a very, very important day and my mother would have reiterated that and said how important that was.
'She was very keen on young people to be able to appreciate what happened during and after the war as well.'
Dame Vera worked with many charities to ensure people were aware of the events before, during and after the Second World War, Ms Lewis-Jones added.
She is currently fundraising for a memorial to her mother to be installed near the White Cliffs of Dover.
It will also pay tribute to other artists who travelled the world boosting moral by entertaining troops and families.
Dame Vera was born March 20 1917 and started singing in working men's clubs at seven years old.
During the war she captured the hearts of the nation with her uplifting musical performances and recordings.
In 2017, aged 100, Dame Vera became the oldest living artist to be in the UK's album chart top 10.