VERA LYN - SOME SUNNY DAY

REVIEW BY MAGGIE PERKOVIC 29TH OCT
BORN VERA WELCH IN 1917 HER CAREER BEGAN AT JUST 7YRS OLD WHEN SHE SANG IN EAST END WORKING MENS CLUBS.
A SUCCESSFUL RADIO CAREER WITH JOE LOSS AND CHARLIE KUNZ IN THE 1920'S AND 30'S FOLLOWED BUT IT WAS WITH THE WORLD WAR 11 THAT SHE BECAME FAMOUS. WITH HER RADIO SHOW 'SINCERELY YOURS' VERA CONNECTED EMOTIONALLY WITH THE MEN FIGHTING FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND THOSE LEFT BEHIND PRAYING FOR THEIR LOVED ONES AND SHE BECAME KNOWN AS THE 'FORCES SWEETHEART'.
HER SONGS 'WE'LL MEET AGAIN' AND "THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER" AMONG OTHERS, VERA TOURED EGYPT, INDIA AND BURMA WITH THE ENTERTAINMENT NATIONAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION, BRINGING THE TROOPS A SENSE OF "BACK HOME", BUT WHAT SHE SAW OUT THERE AFFECTED HER PROFOUNDLY.
HER CAREER AFTER THE WAR FLOURISHED BUT SHE NEVER LEFT BEHIND HER WARTIME ROLE AND CONTINUED AND CONTINUES HER CHARITY WORK WITH VTERAN AND OTHER CHARITIES.
THATS THE BLURB ON THE BOOK COVER AND THIS BOOK EXPLORES THE STORY OF A VERY ORDINARY NORMAL YOUNG GIRL WHO WNET ON TO BECOME AS FAMOUS AS BIG BEN.
BORN TO SOMETIMES UNEMPLOYED PLUMBER WHOSE WIFE WAS AN EXCELLENT SEAMSTRESS, VERA WAS PART OF A FAMILY WHO SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT THE WORKING MENS CLUBS. HER DAD WAS OFTEN MASTER OF CEREMONIES, HER UNCLE TOOK PART AS A COMEDIAN AND HER MUM OFTEN HELPED BEHIND THE SCENES, SO IT WAS NATURAL THAT WHEN THEY REALISED VERA COULD SING SHE STARTED GETTING INVOLVED ON STAGE.
SHE ADMITS IN HER BOOK, SHE DIDN'T ALWAYS WANT TO PERFORM, SHE WAS TIRED, SHE WAS AFTER ALL ONLY 7 BUT SHE DID AS SHE WAS TOLD, NO UNPLEASANTNESS, IN THOSE DAYS YOUR PARENTS WERE IN CHARGE, BUT SHE REGRETS HER LACK OF SCHOOLING, SHE LEFT AT A VERY EARLY AGE. ALTHOUGH TRAVELLING THE WORLD AS SHE DID SHE LEARNT MORE ABOUT DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND HUMAN NATURE THAN YOU GET FROM BOOKS.
SHE SPEAKS OF THE SUFFERING SHE SAW OF THE YOUNG MEN WHO SO BRAVELY GAVE EVERYTHING FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR SIMPLE REQUEST FOR ONE OF HER SONGS OR A MOMENT OF HER TIME. THE TRAVELLING WAS HARD, THE PERFORMANCES ON THE BACK OF ARMY TRUCKS, THE FOOD AND DRINK WITH SAND IN IT, THE LACK OF AMENITIES, NO BATH OR SHOWER FOR WEEKS. ALL THIS SHE DID WILLINGLY AS SHE KNEW WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MADE TO THE TROOPS.
NOW IN THE TWILIGHT OF HER YEARS, SHE SEEMS TO HAVE FEW REGRETS ABOUT HER CAREER. A LOVING MARRIAGE ONLY ENDED WITH HER HUSBAND'S DEATH A FEW YEARS AGO, ONE DAUGHTER, ALSO A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP AND HER KNOWLEDGE THAT SHE MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE TO SO MANY. INTERESTINGLY THE BBC WAS UNHAPPY WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER OF HER SONGS, POSSIBLY WITH A NOTE FROM THE GOVERNMENT THEY SAID THAT ALL THIS MAWKISH RUBBISH IS BAD FOR MORALE. HOW WRONG THEY WERE, HER RECENT RELEASE WENT TOP OF THE ALBUM CHART!! SHE WAS FORCES SWEETHEART AND I SUSPECT THE NATION STILL HAS A VERY SOFT SPOT FOR HER.
THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT, I LOVED IT.