Ambitious plans to commemorate Sussex star and Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn
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The Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue Fund expects the memorial to Dame Vera, for many years a Sussex resident, to cost £1.5m. They're two-thirds of the way there and are making a push for the final £500,000.
Susan Fleet, a dear friend of Dame Vera's for nearly 50 years, said it would be wonderful if the memorial were in place for Dame Vera’s birthday on March 20 (b1917) or in place for the anniversary of her death on June 18 2020.
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Hide Ad“I first met Dame Vera in 1976 and we became friends and I became her PA for the last decade or maybe 15 years of her life and since then I've been very involved in her legacy. When she passed away I did a lot of TV interviews and after that I had a number of telephone calls coming through asking me if I would give a talk about her life. I would never consider myself a speaker but I accepted and it has grown. I have done talks in the House of Commons and for the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and in Birmingham, Cardiff and London and I've got inquiries coming through for (this) year.”
A big part of that legacy is the memorial: “When Dame Vera passed away in 2020 the late (MP) Sir David Amess said that there should be a memorial to Dame Vera. He was a fan and felt she had given so much to this country. He proposed a memorial and a small committee was formed and the eminent sculptor Paul Day was commissioned. He knew Dame Vera. They were chums. He was honoured to take it on.”
“It's a three metre by three metre tableau and it will be in bronze. Hopefully it is going to go to Dover which is obviously iconic. It is all ready. It is in component parts. It is in the Czech Republic ready to be assembled and brought across. But we need another £500,000 to complete the work. I thought it would be relatively easy. We managed to get The Daily Mail on board to help us and we've had some great publicity but I thought Dame Vera's contribution to British life meant that people would put their hands in their pockets. I know people are struggling with the cost of living crisis but when you think of her importance, her military connections and her incredible contributions to charity, I thought it would have been easier. The memorial is there waiting. I've asked various showbiz friends of Dame Vera’s to get involved. I am ever optimistic that this money will be forthcoming. I don't know if the memorial can happen without the money but I remain optimistic that it will happen.”
Susan, who lives in Burgess Hill, carries the fondest memories of Dame Vera who lived in Ditchling for many years: “She was so humble. She never forgot her roots. She never forgot where she came from. She was kind and she was funny and she was unbelievably gifted. It was not just the beautiful singing voice; it was the fact that you could hear every word she sang. And she used to say ‘Please encourage people to sing these songs because in doing so we remember the boys and the sacrifices made.’ It was never about her.”
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Hide AdSusan has just returned from New Zealand where she took part in a number of fund-raising concerts for the memorial with singer Vicki Lee: “Everywhere I went in New Zealand people remembered her. People were coming up and saying what her voice meant to them. She was adored in New Zealand and people in Australia felt exactly the same. They said that her voice would transport them back.”
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