Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones has revealed how she asks her late mother’s spirit for advice following her death, aged 103.
The much-loved singer, who will forever be remembered for her ‘magical voice’, morale-boosting songs and risking her own life to visit troops during the Second World War, passed away surrounded by her family on 18 June 2020.
As reported by Jessica Williams at The Express, since then, Virginia, 74, from Sussex, asks both her late mother and father Harry Lewis, who died in 1998 aged 83, for words of wisdom – adding that ‘nine times out of teen, help appears.’
Speaking about feeling her mum’s presence, Virginia said: ‘You have sort of chats – “What do you think about this?” or, ‘”You want me to do that?.”
Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones, 74, has revealed how she asks her late mother’s spirit for advice following her death, aged 103. Pictured, the much-loved singer
Virginia Lewis-Jones with Dame Vera Lynn
‘And eventually you work it out. Or – it’s either you working it out, and she’s said nothing, but you don’t quite know.’
Virginia went on to say that her mother always had ‘definite’ ideas and that in some situations they may slip through subconsciously and help her.
‘Oh yes, I’m a great believer in the spirit never dies,’ she added. ‘If I’ve got a problem about the finances, I always say to my father, who passed away 22 years, ago, “What am I going to do about this?”
‘And nine times out of ten something materialises – oh yes, definitely.’
English singer Vera Lynn with her daughter Virginia at the piano, September 1956. Virginia lived next door to her mother in Sussex
Dame Vera Lynn, pictured in her final known photograph on May 7 ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day, died aged 103
Dame Vera, pictured in 1940, shortly before she married her musician husband Harry Lewis in 1941 after meeting him in 1939
Dame Vera became a symbol of freedom for the men often thousands of miles from home and songs such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’ gave them hope in their darkest hours that they would one day return to their loved-ones in Britain.
While her music was a beacon of hope between 1939 and 1945, her words in ‘We’ll Meet Again’ resonated again in the current coronavirus pandemic with the Queen using them to inspire modern Britain to evoke the spirit of its wartime generation and battle through the coronavirus crisis.
The song then became a lockdown anthem as it again entered the singles charts with profits going to the NHS and poignantly she last performed the song just six weeks ago.
The veteran singer was beamed as a hologram to stand next to Katherine Jenkins at an empty Royal Albert Hall to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Dame Vera dedicated the performance ‘to the brave boys and what they sacrificed for us’ in her final interview before she died.
Queen Elizabeth II receives a record album, extracts from 25 years of Royal Variety Performance, from singer Vera Lynn in 1973
She added: ‘They left their families and homes to fight for our freedom and many lost their lives trying to protect us and our liberties.’
Dame Vera married her musician husband Harry Lewis in 1941 after meeting him in 1939 and the couple had one child, Virginia, who was born in 1946.
Harry died in 1988 and Vera lived next door to her daughter in Ditchling, Sussex, who is understood to have been by her mother’s side when she died.
Her family said in a statement they were ‘deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers at the age of 103’.
They added: ‘Dame Vera Lynn passed away earlier today, surrounded by her close family. Further information regarding a memorial service will be announced at a later date.’
