Today, June 18, 2020, Vera Lynn passed on. She was 103. This past May, Dame Vera became the oldest person to enter the U.K.’s top 40 music charts, with her greatest hits album coming in at number 30 ahead of VE Day, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Vera was known as the Allied Forces Sweetheart, the iconic voice of WWII. During the war, she spent her time traveling to all corners of the earth to entertain the Allied soldiers. The song she made famous, “We’ll Meet Again” was a song that comforted many who were away from home, and those whose loved ones would never return.
In an address to the nation shortly after the U.K. government imposed a coronavirus lockdown this March 23, Queen Elizabeth II referenced Lynn’s famous song “We’ll Meet Again” in a widely-praised speech seen as a boost to British morale. That song is featured as a key plot point in Demons, Well-Seasoned, the third book in The Secret Spice trilogy, chosen to be included by many Queen Mary aficionados who lived through WWII. Here it is, referenced on page 244 of the novel:
It was a song the spirits might have danced to when they lived, a
song that reminded them of their sweethearts, of a war that took away
their loved ones, or brought them home. Or perhaps it was a song that
reminded them of why they were still here, what they were still searching for. It was a song linked to so many who’d once sailed the Queen
Mary, and with it, they’d been called back to her.
“I’ll never again tell her not to sing,” Alex declared.
Rest in peace, Vera, knowing you lived a remarkable life that inspired many. Including me.
Leave a Reply