Vera Lynn

Born in London on March 20th 1917, Vera Lynn began performing when she was just seven years old with a children's dance troupe. At fifteen she was a vocalist with Howard Baker's Orchestra. Her big break came in 1935 when she made her first radio broadcast with the Joe Loss Orchestra. Following her stint with Loss, Vera signed up as vocalist with Charlie Kunz and then with Ambrose, it was here she met her husband; Harry Lewis who played clarinet and tenor sax and would eventually become her manager.

In 1940 Vera made the decision to become a solo act; producer Harry Thomas arranged a radio show for her called "Sincerely Yours". The signature tune for the show was "Wishing" and the show featured Vera reading messages from sweethearts to their soldier boyfriends and singing wartime hits such as; "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover". She also appeared on stage in a number of variety shows. By 1941 Vera was the most popular female vocalist in the U.K, her songs were much loved by the British troops and she appeared in many shows for the troops both at home and overseas. The war years also made Vera a movie star she appeared in three films between 1942 and 1944, "We'll Meet Again", "Rhythm Serenade" and "One Exciting Night".

When the war ended Vera retired from show business but by 1947 she was back on stage and back on radio. Decca records released some of her songs in America and she had several top thirty hits between 1948 and 1954 including "Auf Weiderseh'n", "Again", "We'll Meet Again" and "If You Love Me". In England she continued to be popular reaching the number one spot on the charts several times throughout the 50's.

After twenty years with Decca, 1960 saw Vera switch to EMI and record several hit albums and sign up for a new television show, but by the late 60's health problems began to take their toll. She cut her work rate down to a more manageable level and continued to work into the 80's.