Alistair Hardaker Image: © IWM
Imperial War Museums acquires ‘Forces’ Sweetheart’ collection including over 600 fan letters, 1944 India tour diary and tropical uniform.
Imperial War Museums has acquired the complete Second World War archive of Dame Vera Lynn, including over 600 fan letters, correspondence with her husband Harry Lewis, a diary from her 1944 tour of India, and shorts and trousers from her tropical uniform.
A small selection of objects from the collection will go on display at IWM London this spring. The remainder will undergo the museum’s accessioning, documentation and conservation processes.
Dame Vera was the star of the BBC radio show Sincerely Yours, which connected troops abroad with their loved ones during the Second World War. Her tour of India from March to June 1944, where she entertained Empire and Commonwealth troops including the Fourteenth Army, established her reputation as The Forces’ Sweetheart.
The collection includes lists of names and addresses Dame Vera compiled whilst visiting hospitals in India, which she used to write to servicemen’s families informing them their loved one was well. IWM has acquired examples of these lists and letters thanking her for writing.
Dame Vera’s BBC contract for Sincerely Yours, which started in November 1941, is included in the collection. The show invited listeners to send song requests and messages for loved ones serving in the Armed Forces. She could receive up to 2,000 letters per week.
The 600 letters in the collection include correspondence from Mrs Rosamund Lindsey, who enclosed a letter from her brother-in-law Corporal David ‘Ted’ Lindsey describing Dame Vera’s appearance at an Entertainments National Service Association show in India. Dame Vera sent two signed photographs to lift his spirits. After the Lindseys were displaced by bombing, Ted later wrote directly to thank her.
The khaki shorts included in the acquisition were worn by Dame Vera during the tour, designed for the same challenging conditions faced by troops.
Simon Offord, Curator at Imperial War Museums said: “Dame Vera’s presence during national Second World War commemorations for decades to come means her name is forever connected to the conflict’s memory, and we are honoured to hold these objects, which tell the story of her remarkable legacy.
Dame Vera’s daughter, Virginia Lewis-Jones, said: “These items have been kept by my parents since the beginning of my Mother’s career, and when she passed on, I took over the reins of her Archive. I am very happy to know that these particular items will be kept for posterity in IWM’s Collection, and that a selection of them will go on display for everyone to enjoy and learn about her life.”
Other objects in the collection include 160 wartime contracts for over 200 engagements, receipts from The Decca Gramophone Co Ltd for records she sent to servicemen and prisoners of war, a fan club address book compiled by her mother Mrs Annie Welch, and account books showing earnings and expenditures from April 1941 to February 1947.
