Vera Lynn Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; born 20 March 1917), widely known as "the Forces' Sweetheart", is an English singer of traditional pop, songwriter and actress, whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during the Second World War. During the war she toured Egypt, India, and Burma as part of ENSA, giving outdoor concerts for the troops. The songs most associated with her are "We'll Meet Again", "The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the UK
Vera Lynn charts. She has devoted much time and energy to charity work connected with ex-servicemen, disabled children, and breast cancer. She is held in great affection by veterans of the Second World War to this day and in 2000 was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the 20th century. Vera Margaret Welch was born in East Ham, Newham, on 20 March 1917, to parents Bertram Samuel Welch (1883–1955) and Annie Martin (c. 1889–1961), who had married in 1913. She began performing publicly at the age of seven and adopted her maternal grandmother's maiden name, Margaret Lynn, as her