Stephen Dixon has shared fond memories of his interview with Dame Vera Lynn amid growing support for a memorial to honour the wartime singer."I had the great privilege of interviewing her once," Stephen recalled. "What a woman. I mean, she really is the nation's sweetheart."READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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00:00Now, when you think back to the war, one of the things,
00:03and I had the great privilege of interviewing her once,
00:07Dame Vera Lynn.
00:08Oh, what a woman.
00:10Well, yeah, I mean, the nation's sweetheart.
00:12I mean, she really, really was an incredible woman.
00:16And the acclaimed sculptor Paul Day has created a breathtaking
00:20three-metre tableau to commemorate Dame Vera,
00:24and it's destined to overlook the White Cliffs of Dover.
00:27Oh, it'd just be beautiful, wouldn't it?
00:28Well, this comes after the late Sir David Amos launched an appeal
00:32to create a lasting memorial to honour the Force's sweetheart
00:36shortly before he died in 2021.
00:39However, the memorial is currently, believe it or not,
00:43in the Czech Republic.
00:44We still need another £350,000 for it to be completed.
00:50So, can we reach that goal?
00:52I hope so.
00:53We're joined now by close friend of Dame Vera Lynn, Susan Fleet.
00:57Very good morning to you, Susan.
00:59And do you really think we can reach this goal?
01:01I hope so.
01:03Well, if we can't do it at this time, then we never can, to be frank.
01:06I mean, VE week, VE day today.
01:10In fact, I must tell you, Dame Vera was flying back from Burma on VE day.
01:14Wow.
01:14And apparently they had a glass of champagne in the air.
01:17Oh, quite right, too.
01:19If we can't do it now, then when can we do it?
01:23We've been appealing for the last four years for funds.
01:26We've been very successful.
01:28We've raised £1.15 million.
01:30But we need this final amount to get us across the final finishing line.
01:35Why was Dame Vera the sweetheart, the pin-up of the war?
01:40I mean, because she seemed to epitomise so much, not just sort of keeping spirits up for
01:46those who were involved in the conflict directly, but actually keeping spirits up at home and
01:52a sign of what people who weren't directly involved in that sense were actually doing
01:58to keep the home fires burning.
02:00Well, she actually was given that title, The Forces, Sweetheart.
02:03It was a competition in the Daily Express in 1939.
02:07So that's where that came from.
02:09Then in 1941, she had a BBC radio programme, Sincerely Yours, where she was connecting people
02:16in the UK, the families in the UK, with the boys overseas, all over the world.
02:21And I think that's where the title came from, of her being the sweetheart of the nation.
02:27And she held that light until she died five years ago at the age of 103.
02:32Wow.
02:33She was the original Forces sweetheart.
02:35I mean, what a life she had.
02:38You must be so proud of her as her friend.
02:41I was very proud.
02:42And I was actually very privileged because for the last 15 years of her life, I acted as
02:47her PA.
02:48So when she was 100, all the mail came here and we opened three and a half thousand letters
02:54and cards and tributes from all over the world, from children as young as five who were studying
03:02World War II as part of history lessons, from veterans, from people up to 100.
03:10It was extraordinary.
03:12And of course, lots from celebrity friends all over the world.
03:15I was going to say, she always struck us as being someone who was so important to so many people
03:25and yet remained very humble.
03:28Incredibly humble.
03:29Very down to earth.
03:30There were no airs and graces about Dame Vera.
03:33She always was humble through and through.
03:36And she was very much a part of our local Sussex community.
03:41And she was actually kept going right up till a few weeks before she passed away.
03:46She was extraordinary.
03:48Oh, she truly was, Susan.
03:49We're seeing pictures now on the screen of this memorial.
03:52Can you describe it for us, for our radio audience?
03:55Because it catches so much, doesn't it?
03:58It does indeed.
03:59At the very top, you've got St Paul's Cathedral during the Blitz and you've got a couple dancing
04:03together.
04:04And on the right, you have a family around the radiogram with the children and the pets.
04:10On the left-hand side, you have the service personnel, men and women.
04:14You have musicians on the left and on the right.
04:18And you have Dame Vera center stage with a microphone.
04:21Interestingly, one of the faces on the left is Sir David Amess, which is a fitting tribute
04:28to an extraordinary man who initiated this memorial.
04:33And on the right-hand side, you have Dame Vera's husband, Harry, who she met in 1939 when
04:39they were both in the same orchestra, the Burt Ambrose Orchestra.
04:43So it's lovely that those two people are mocked in the memorial as well.
04:48It is.
04:48And it's something that's got so much detail in it.
04:52If this gets done, and let's hope and pray it does, where will it go?
04:57Well, it is created already.
04:59It's in the Czech Republic for the final process, which is the patination, which keeps it in the
05:06longevity of the sculpture.
05:10We're just waiting for the final fund so that we can bring it back here.
05:14And we're hoping it's going to be on Marine Parade in Dover.
05:17There are a few legal issues we have to get through, but we're very much hoping that when
05:22the council meet later this month, that they will give approval for the memorial to be placed there.
05:28It'll be perfect timing as well, wouldn't it, with the 80th anniversary?
05:31How can people donate to the fund if they'd like to, Susan?
05:35If they go on the website, which is www.dameveralynmemorialstatue.co.uk, there's a Just Giving page and people can donate.
05:47There's also information if people want to send cheques to our treasurer, but all the details are there.
05:53OK, Susan, really good to talk to you and let's hope we get this across the line.