Dame Vera Lynn was a symbol of hope, says local MP Jamie Stone
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North MP Jamie Stone has paid tribute to Dame Vera Lynn, describing her as "a hero to all of us".
Dame Vera, who died today aged 103, was known as the Forces’ Sweetheart for the way she raised morale with her singing performances at home and abroad during World War II.
Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, tabled a parliamentary motion to mark her passing.
It reads: "That this House notes the contribution made by Dame Vera Lynn as a symbol of hope to the armed forces and wishes her family love in her passing."
Mr Stone said later: "To my father fighting with the 14th Army in Burma and to my mother working in London during the Blitz, Vera was incredibly special. She meant so much to so many of us and can teach us a lot about hope and kindness, even today.
"She will most fondly be remembered for singing We'll Meet Again, which took on further resonance during coronavirus.
"Vera will always be the hero of the armed forces, but she is also a hero to all of us. Rest in peace."
In 2005, Dame Vera gave her support to the World War II memorial garden project in Wick which was in its early stages at that time.
At a sell-out variety concert in the Assembly Rooms to raise funds, a recording was played in the hall in which Dame Vera paid a moving tribute to the memorial garden volunteers.
She said: “The idea of having a garden is a lovely thought and I hope it will bring pleasure where much sadness was felt. I am sure that the people of Wick will be thankful for many years to come.”
The concert had a wartime theme and featured Michelle McManus, a former winner of ITV’s Pop Idol competition, as well as local artistes. It raised around £2600.
The memorial garden, which opened in 2010, commemorates the 18 people who died in two air raids by German bombers in the town 80 years ago.
Fifteen people were killed – eight of them children – in an attack on Bank Row in July 1940. An air raid in Hill Avenue in October that year claimed three more lives, two of them children.
