Talk:Vera Lynn

Biography assessment rating comment
WikiProject Biography Assessment

Very nearly a B.

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 02:02, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

A better picture, without the old-lady beard hairs?
It's called for; I think. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.228.13.136 (talk) 15:38, 20 April 2013 (UTC)


 * Agreed. In fact, we should have a number of photos of her during her lifetime. MagnoliaSouth (talk) 17:55, 25 January 2023 (UTC)


 * Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding but we do have a number of photos of photos of her during her lifetime in this article. The "old-lady beard hairs" image referred to is no longer the infobox picture but still in the article. Humbledaisy (talk) 18:23, 25 January 2023 (UTC)

Don't know where, don't know when
Doesn't anyone remember Vera Lynn?
 * And how she said that we will meet again? ;) User:Luigi30 (&Upsilon;&sigma;&eta;&rho; &tau;&alpha;&lambda;&kappa; &#923;&#965;&#951;&#947;&#951;&#923;) 18:53, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Some sunny day. --209.30.186.165 02:56, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

I corrected the erroneous reference to Pink in the article, which seemed to assume that this was Pink Floyd's first name. It was Roger Waters, a member of Pink Floyd, who referred to her in his music quite often, and whose father was killed in WWII. Lee-Anne (talk) 17:22, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

I corrected the first reference to her marriage in 1939, as it seems that she met her future husband then, but they didn't marry until some time later.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/celebrity/article.html?in_article_id=414474&in_page_id=181

She says in an interview that she married in 1961.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/you-ask-the-questions-such-as-dame-vera-lynn-didnt-you-ever-get-sick-of-singing-the-white-cliffs-of-dover-1106300.html

This is another interview, in which she says that they met in 1939, at which time he told her that he was going to marry her, but they were married in 1941.

http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004524/Vera-Lynn.html

A biography that says the same thing. Lee-Anne (talk) 17:47, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

book image
I have added in an image of Vera's second autobiography "we'll meet again". I think its a much better image than "Vocal Refrain" which shows a much older Vera wearing an ugly dress infront of a microphone. If anyone has any problems regarding proper use of this book images let me know. Dowew 02:10, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Name that Tune
I recently found an MP3 of a song called 'Jerusalem' by Vera Lynn. It doesn't fit the description of any of the songs and I wondered if anyone could confirm it is indeed Vera singing it and find out the complete lyrics. The sound is reminiscent of a church hymn via '40s MGM symphony orchestrations.

From listening to the track, the opening verse and chorus are:-


 * 'Last night I lay asleeping, there came a dream so fair;
 * I stood in old Jerusalem, beside the temple (bare/there)/
 * I heard the children singing, and ever as they sang,
 * Methought the voice of angels in heaven, in us, rang.
 * Methought the voice of angels in heaven, in us, rang.


 * Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
 * Lift up your gates and sing
 * "Hosanah" (spelling uncertain) in the highest,
 * "Hosanah" to your king.'

The song descibed above is "The Holy City" w. Frederick Edward Weatherly m. Stephen Adams from 1892.

White Cliffs of Dover
The link to the song "White Cliffs of Dover" links to the actual cliffs. Meanwhile, there is no article for the song the link is trying to point towards.

Films....   in the Danish film "Venus fra Vestø" (Venus from Thewestisland) she appears as herself singing in a restaurant. The film is a war comedy dealing with the effords to smuggle a cow from occupied Denmark to England. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.90.239.171 (talk) 04:36, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

I've got a lovely recording of her doing "Rainbow Connection" but I can't find an original recording date. I've looked up "Vera Lynn discography" and so forth with no luck. When would she have recorded this? Thanks. --Bluejay Young (talk) 03:12, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

The references to Buckingham Palace in 1995 and Hawaii in 1988 need revision. The use of the word 'however' in the second sentence makes for an, at best, confusing chronology. I can't do it because I don't know the factual context or the author's intent.Toyokuni3 (talk) 05:22, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

I agree with that. It doesn't make much sense. "Rainbow Connection" was recorded in 1981 for her album 'Singing to the World'. User:TheoMorgan —Preceding comment was added at 23:41, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Vera Lynn song list in this article says she recorded White Cliffs of Dover in 1940. The article on White Cliffs of Dover says it was written in 1942. Can someone help clear up this discrepancy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.131.14.2 (talk) 11:06, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

19 Aug 2008 - Dame Vera Lynn becomes patron of FLOW for ALL
Confirmation of this entry may be found at http://www.flowforall.org/our_patron.asp.

Suggested edit: In September 2008 Dame Vera Lynn became the Patron for the Forces Literary Organistion Worldwide for ALL often referred to as FLOWforALL http://www.flowforall.org/our_patron.asp. Dame Vera has been a supporter of the Armed Forces since the Second World War and it is a testement to this great support that she continues to do so as she moves past her ninetieth year. --Murdock22 (talk) 09:47, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Marriage
Two different years are stated at the beginning and end of the article for her year of marriage. Was it 1939 or '41?

Videos with her musics
These sites: [RAF], [Vera 1] and [Vera 2] have three of her musics.Agre22 (talk) 22:21, 18 October 2009 (UTC)agre22

Irrelevant anecdotal story removed
Someone wrote some story about how their dad was Vera Lynn's boyfriend, even writing it as "My Father", not only was this irrelevant but also not exactly encyclopedic in language! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Henners91 (talk • contribs) 13:15, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

bla bla bla —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.41.204.89 (talk) 19:13, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Discography
What a shame that the discography is such a mess on Wiki. Vera Lynn deserves a better article here. Dutchdean (talk) 10:12, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

I am going to change the discography here to bring it up to normal Wikipedia standards. The list of songs is pointless so will be removed. I will include ORIGINAL studio albums and compilations of notable interest only. Other compilations that DID not chart or contain original material will not be listed. Dutchdean (talk) 22:27, 19 February 2011 (UTC)


 * About those compilations, there could be a new section for that.
 * One thing that bothers me most is how the discography excludes the original date she sang them, which would normally not really matter, but to understand the timeline context of many of her songs, the original date matters.
 * For example, her most famous song, "The White Cliffs of Dover" isn't even listed in her Discography. The album More Hits of the Blitz, isn't listed probably because it is a compilation but I didn't think of that initially, when I came here and was surprised it was excluded. If that's so, how will the average user know which is a compilation or isn't? Remember, this is supposed to be easily understandable. Many will not understand and never figure it out.
 * Finding the original dates was actually why I originally came here and I believe that we could add those in one of three ways.
 * Way 1: add a column to the discography.
 * Way 2: add Wiki Notes to the titles.
 * Way 3: add a new section with its own tables.
 * Personally, I think Way 2 is better than Way 1, but we may have issues with compatible sourcing or that users won't look at it. For this reason I think perhaps Way 3 is best.
 * I'll work on one and come back and link to it sometime later. If I don't, I probably forgot. Give me a week and if more than a week has passed, please ping me to remind me. :D
 * MagnoliaSouth (talk) 18:27, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * MagnoliaSouth (talk) 18:27, 25 January 2023 (UTC)

Picture needed
It would be nice to add a picture of her as she appeared during her legendary wartime years 1939-1945.76.199.89.188 (talk) 15:39, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Burma Star
Shouldn't the award of the Burma Star to her be included? --jmb (talk) 12:57, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Betty Driver
I've deleted the reference to VL working with Betty Driver. It may well be true but can we have a citation, pse? Mikeo1938 (talk) 21:49, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

Lack of Citations
The banner about lack of citations has been removed. I find it strange that people had taken the trouble to write good material but then spoilt it by failing to supply in-line citations. Mikeo1938 (talk) 23:08, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Vera Lynn. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20101126173720/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/britainatwar/6043373/Dame-Vera-Lynn-the-original-Forces-Sweetheart-is-still-in-demand.html to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/britainatwar/6043373/Dame-Vera-Lynn-the-original-Forces-Sweetheart-is-still-in-demand.html

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Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 09:03, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

Pink Floyd
"The Wall" has had a tremendous amount of influence in the history of modern music. First, are there no sources commenting on the lyrics referring to Vera so that the current mention might be expanded, possibly including that very part of lyrics? Second, are there no notable influences references to Floyd? (Most likely, there are other people besides me, coming from NOT-UK countries, who have since their childhood wondered "Who the heck might be Vera Lynn?". For them, this would be an extremely significant connection.) --82.131.127.31 (talk) 01:13, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 09:53, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Hatnote to Lera Lynn
I added a hatnote linking to Lera Lynn after watching last last night's edition of Later...with Jools Holland. On that show Lera Lynn was a guest, but as I was only half watching the programme I misheard the introduction, and wondered (albeit briefly) what Vera Lynn was doing on that particular show. Feeling that it is a mistake that could be made by others I added the hatote, only to see it deleted again this morning. Since the editor who deleted it provided no edit summary I've restored it and suggested a talk page discussion. So, given that hatnotes are for instances where some confusion could arise, does anyone else have any thoughts on this? This is Paul (talk) 11:10, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Vera Lynn. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160215162823/http://www.mun.ca/senate/honorary_degrees_by_convo.pdf to http://www.mun.ca/senate/honorary_degrees_by_convo.pdf

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100th birthday?
20 March 2017 was not her 100th birthday, but her 101st!

20 March 1917 was her first birthday!

Count to 100 and where do you end?

20 March 1917: 1st

20 March 1918: 2nd

...

20 March 2016: 100th

sigurdhu (talk) 14:41, 23 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Her first birthday was the 20 March 1918 you dont normally call the day you were born your first birthday, have a read of Birthday if you dont really understand. MilborneOne (talk) 15:14, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

Death
Reports from BBC she has died — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.252.27.101 (talk) 08:48, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Correct. Article now reflects this. Favonian (talk) 09:11, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

1939 and 1953 recordings of 'We'll Meet Again"
The article doesn't specify it but the version of 'Well Meet Again' I believe appears to be more popular (it was the version in 'Dr. Strangelove') is not the same recording of the song popular in the war. I've clarified this in the article on the song itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ll_Meet_Again, but cannot find a way I feel is neat enough of doing so in Lynn's article, so I am noting this here in order to invite others to find a way to do so. Luckycitizen (talk) 10:34, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

I've now made edits that include this info, and hopefully it's to the satisfaction of the other editors here. Luckycitizen (talk) 11:17, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 June 2020
Dame Vera Lynn Died Today 18/06/2020 92.21.122.116 (talk) 12:09, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * No, really? Kingsif (talk) 12:13, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 June 2020
Under foreign honours: Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau, The Netherlands (1977): The year should be 1985, not 1977 (see Dutch version of page on Vera Lynn in Wikipedia). 86.151.204.4 (talk) 12:50, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: The reference given for the date seems reliable. I have, however, corrected the incorrect information on the Dutch page; which should remind us again that WP:Wikipedia is not a reliable source... RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 20:32, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Discography source
Here - I stuck this on the ITN nom. I don't have time to update right now (well, I'm trying not to lose my place reading) Kingsif (talk) 12:58, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 June 2020
79.78.200.87 (talk) 20:48, 18 June 2020 (UTC) East Ham is not in Essex.
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Technically, not a request, but anyway, as pointed out, we use the locations as they were at the time: "Do not change to London, East Ham was in Essex in 1917"... RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 21:25, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 June 2020
I want to edit 2A00:23C6:EB82:4101:9C47:9C2C:AD2C:28AF (talk) 10:23, 19 June 2020 (UTC)


 * ❌ The page has been semi-protected due to vandalism. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please do tell us. Declining since there wasn't actually a request here. Joseph2302 (talk) 10:27, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

Correcting titles.
Dear Kingsif. Thank you for your input and editing of my alterations. I have inserted a photo in the Vera Lynn article, and tried to make sure all is correct. Please edit if you find something is not correct. Best, Constituto (talk) 22:54, 17 December 2020 (UTC)
 * I've undone the edits: you broke up a paragraph, leaving sentences without sources, and added an image that was uploaded to commons with no evidence of it being commons licensed. Please read the Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons guidelines before editing. Kingsif (talk) 00:02, 18 December 2020 (UTC)


 * I see. OK, thanks. I was not aware that I had broken up a paragraph. I did try to upload the photo and choose the right license. I have received the photo from Mr. Erling Eikli who took it and have gotten his permission to upload it at Commons. I have also received permission to upload it from the persons on the photo. Could you please advice me on how to upload and license this photo correct? It is not so easy to do these things right at Wikipedia and at Commons, but I try to get it correct. I would be grateful if you could help me to get it right. Constituto (talk) 12:55, 20 December 2020 (UTC)
 * If you didn't take the photo, you need whoever did to upload it, not you. If they don't want to do that, you can have them send an email via the OTRS system at Commons. If Eikli is not the person who took the photo, it doesn't matter if he gave you permission. It would be best for you to ask more at Commons help. Kingsif (talk) 18:35, 20 December 2020 (UTC)

Rhyming slang
Vera Lynns is rhyming slang for "skins" i.e. cigarette rolling papers, aka Rizlas, e.g. "Have you got any Veras?" The obituary in The Guardian here also mentions gin and chin. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:18, 4 May 2022 (UTC)