Alfriston historian and New Zealand musician write book about Sussex star Dame Vera Lynn's profound impact on people

The Career That Chose Me by Dr June Goodfield and Vicki Lee takes a look at the stories of those who were profoundly affected by the singer’s music.

Known as The Forces Sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynn was an inspiration for people in Britain and beyond during World War II, performing iconic songs like ‘We’ll Meet Again’.

She lived in Ditchling before she passed away in June 2020 at age 103.

Singer and piano teacher Vicki, from Palmerston North, said the book idea came about while she was performing a Dame Vera tribute show in New Zealand and Sussex.

“I was doing concerts and gathering lots of stories from attendees,” she said.

Vicki told Dame Vera’s PA Susan Fleet about this and Susan spoke to Alfriston resident and historian Dr June Goodfield.

“Dr Goodfield was very interested in people’s memories of that time because she’s a historian and has considerable interest in that period,” said Vicki.

They wrote the book with the belief that history is the events that happen in ordinary men and women’s lives .

June said: “Their stories can be very important for the younger generation to learn about the courage and activity of their parents and grandparents.”

One particularly poignant story, June said, is about a boy from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, whose family went to England for work during the Depression and became stuck there when war broke out.

The boy remembers seeing London burning with the whole horizon in flames.

Vicki explained that many attending her New Zealand shows were older English ex-pats, but there were also Dutch people who had settled in New Zealand.

One of Vicki’s favourite stories involves a woman who lived in Maastricht, Holland, on the border of Belgium and Germany during the war.

The woman recalls listening to Dame Vera on the BBC, as her singing gave the resistance hope.

She also recalls eating tulip bulbs after the Nazis tried to starve the Dutch and the Allied Pilots dropping food parcels in a field.

Children arranged the bulbs for the planes, spelling ‘thank you boys’, said Vicki.

She added that the woman later learned that a former British pilot who had dropped parcels had ended up living near to her in New Zealand.

“She was bursting to tell me this story,” said Vicki.

“It was Dame Vera’s music that really got to her and brought her up to talk to me.”

June and Vicki were glad to share these tales but being on opposite sides of the planet in a pandemic didn’t make it easy.

But June said: “When I met Vicki and saw her in the UK more than once, we knew what we had to do and the long distance communication never turned out to be a worry thanks to technology.”

Vicki said: "We were emailing and when questions needed to be answered I couldn’t expect June to be up all the wee hours of the night.

“So my whole clock changed during that time, but I wouldn't change a thing.”

People in New Zealand interested in a copy can email Vicki at [email protected].

UK residents who would like a copy can email [email protected].