Plans to create a memorial to Dame Vera Lynn have been backed by Lichfield’s MP.
The singer, famed for her wartime hit The White Cliffs of Dover, died in 2020.
A campaign by Dover MP Natalie Elphicke to create a permanent memorial has been given the support of Sir Michael Fabricant.
Lichfield’s Conservative MP said:
“I used to know Dame Vera extremely well before I became an MP – she was the president of a radio company I was involved with and I frequently had meetings at her home in Ditchling in Sussex along with her husband, Harry.
“I hope a memorial to Dame Vera could be constructed at the National Memorial Arboretum as she was known and revered as ‘the forces sweetheart’ and toured many battle areas in World War Two, visiting troops from France to Burma.
“Local groups and individuals have worked hard to raise funds for this project. They have made great progress, led by Dame Vera’s daughter, Ginny, and son-in-law, Tom. Yet it is a major project and they need help to complete the memorial.
“Government support for memorials was announced in the recent Budget and this would be a worthy candidate for funding.
“I know that some people will argue that at a time when there is a cost of living crisis across Europe, this project is irrelevant – I would argue that only by remembering and honouring our past can we avoid those mistakes in the future.”
Sir Michael Fabricant.
Woman sung a song 85 years ago she didn’t even write now we’re building a statue to her?
Maybe spend the money on fixing the stuff Tories have broken.
Michael Fabricant has always got his finger right on the pulse of the big issues in his constituency. Here he is again demonstrating he knows just what it is that the people of Lichfield and Burntwood care most about. I can’t wait tell him what a good job he is doing at his next constituency surgery.
Well Nat Burton who wrote the lyrics was American. He never came to England. His assertion of Blue Birds over Dover was fanciful as they are an American species not European.
That said it is an uplifting song full of hope and much needed at the time. The ornithological correctness was of no consequence.
It will be less significant as the generation of WW2 and their offsprings die out. Nevertheless, I agree with Michael Fabricant that history has significance that should not be forgotten. Our lives would have been very different had it not been for past sacrifice. The song was important and so was Vera. A statue is still appropriate.