East London road artwork tribute to Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn

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Ame Vera Lynn will be remembered with a huge graffiti-style street art mural in her hometown of east London.

On a wall on Barking Road, not far from her childhood in East Ham, is the picture of the lovers of the armed forces, whose songs gathered the nation together during World War II.

It measures roughly 11 x 11 feet, and the singer’s black and white portrait also includes a pair of bluebirds – a nod to one of her greatest war hits, There’ll Be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover.


Dame Vera Lynn – In Pictures

Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn poses for pictures in 2009

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The British singer Vera Lynn rehearsed her new radio show in 1965

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Dame Vera Lynn’s new album celebrating her 100th birthday

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Dame Vera Lynn, who is celebrating her 103rd birthday today and in a video for her 103rd birthday calling on the British public to find “moments of joy” in these “difficult times”

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Dame Vera Lynn in a studio portrait in the 1940s

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Forces Sweetheart Vera Lynn presented a mobile canteen on behalf of the Variety Artistes Ladies’ Guild to the Mayor of Westminster, who received it in 1942 on behalf of the YMCA

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Singer Vera Lynn with her new baby Virginia in 1946

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Vera Lynn with ex-soldiers during a Queen’s garden party at Buckingham Palace in 1950

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Vera Lynn on stage at Grosevnor House 1950

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Vera Lynn rehearses with comedians Tony Hancock (left) and Jimmy Edwards at the Adelphi Theater in London in 1952

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Vera Lynn painted in her home in Finchley in 1956

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Vera Lynn rehearses for a radio show in London in 1956

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Forces Sweetheat singer Vera Lynn in 1969

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British singer Vera Lynn receives a grand reception when she arrives in Trafalgar Square, London to sing during the “Salvage Week” campaign in 1843

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Vera Lynn and comedian Harry Secombe (right) sign autographs at the tea tables during the annual Christmas party of the “Not Forgotten” association

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Vera Lynn, at Lionel Bart’s new show Blitz at the Adelphi Theater

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Vera Lynn at the All Star TV Gala Performance to Benefit the British Commonwealth Games Teams

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Dame Vera Lynn with the pop group Slade around a piano in 1973

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Cliff Richard with Dame Vera Lynn during lunch at the Variety Club in their honor at the Savoy Hotel

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Cilla Black, Harry Secombe and Dame Vera Lynn at the Variety Club of Great Britain luncheon thank the UK record industry for their contribution to the club’s work for children’s charities

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Dame Vera Lynn at a 1985 veterans’ meeting at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Air Vice Marshal Sir Bernard Chacksfield (Chairman of the Burma Star Association) with the Burma Star and War Medal 1939-194444

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Dame Vera Lynn on board the war locomotive now named after her at Isfield, near Lewes, Sussex in 1985

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The Queen Mother backstage at the London Palladium with Dame Vera Lynn in 1990

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Dame Vera Lynn sings with the troops in a London recording studio in 1991

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Queen Elizabeth II with Dame Very Lynn at Earls Court, London for The Great Event

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The Queen met the ‘Forces Sweetheart’ Dame Vera Lynn in 1995

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Dame Vera Lynn in the garden of the Savoy Hotel in 2000

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Dame Vera Lynn, with Baroness Thatcher and Dame Shirley Bassey in 2002

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The Duke of Edinburgh shakes hands with Dame Vera Lynn in 2005

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Dame Vera Lynn (center), Petula Clark (left) and Bruce Forsyth sing “We’ll Meet Again”

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Duchess of Cornwall and Dame Vera Lynn

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Prince of Wales meets Dame Vera Lynn in 2006

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Dame Vera Lynn celebrates her 90th birthday with Baroness Thatcher at the Imperial War Museum in London

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Dame Vera Lynn Skypes with students from her former East London school, Brampton Primary, on her 100th birthday tone

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The portrait of Dame Vera Lynn was projected onto the white cliffs of Dover to celebrate her 100th birthday and the release of her new album “Vera Lynn 100”.

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Dame Vera Lynn with Medal of the Member of the Order of Companion of Honor at her home in Ditchling, East Sussex

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Dame Vera Lynn wins the Lifetime Acheivement Award at the Women of the Year Awards 2009 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Londo

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Princess Royal attends the Not Forgotten Association Christmas party with Dame Vera Lynn

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Official portrait of Dame Vera Lynn unveiled to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day

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Marc Silver, whose company MurWalls usually paints massive murals of soccer stars, rappers or actors, said the creation was a “passion project”.

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He said, “I am 44 years old and I think people my age would have heard of Dame Vera Lynn and known her for what she did and as the sweetheart of the forces but the younger generation just getting through I’m not going to know who she is and that’s my reason why I wanted to do this.

“With that you will have children who will ask, ‘Who is that?’ and it’s a chance for people to tell the story behind it. “

The project was also supported by Newham Council and Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said: “Dame Vera Lynn was the girl next door who was a special symbol of East End resilience and hope for our country during World War II.

“We are proud of her as a Newham legend who named a street after her and she will always have a special place in our hearts. So it is fitting that we sponsor this street scene in memory of her one year after her death. This beautiful visual work of art allows us to celebrate Newham’s heritage in an accessible way and it reflects our approach to inclusive culture and the arts. “