Kent man Alf George meets Forces' sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn...again
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by Thom Morris
For Dame Vera Lynn and Alf George it was a case of We'll
Meet Again - literally.
The Second World War Forces Sweetheart and veteran came face to
face after 67 years.
The first time Dame Vera and Mr George, of Kennington, met was
in the Egyptian desert and now they've greeted each other
again at a major exhibition.
Mr George, 90, said: "Her manner was as lively now as it was
then.
"This time we spoke for a good few minutes and said 'I don't
suppose you remember meeting in Egypt?'
"By coincidence we also used to live close to each other in
Barking and Dagenham, so we chatted about the old
neighbourhood."
Mr George, of Copperfield Close, was among veterans to meet Dame
Vera, 93, recently at the War and Peace military vehicle exhibition
at Paddock Wood.
Mr George was serving with the 58th Anti-Tank Regiment at the
time, when Dame Vera made an unscheduled stop on her way out to
Burma and India to entertain troops.
The aircraft had landed when she suffered air sickness, but she
still went on to give a concert to the troops in Egypt.
He said: "We were told there was a show coming on, with her
singing. Afterwards a few of us were able to meet her.
"When it was my turn she agreed to autograph a picture of my
wife and asked how I was."
Mr George is a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation, being brought
back on the paddle steamer the Medway Queen in May 1940.
This year he made an emotional journey back to the French port
to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the evacuation.
Mr George's wife Daisy died in 2008, aged 85.
- Dame Vera Lynn is famous as the Forces' Sweetheart, giving
morale-boosting concerts to troops during the Second World
War.
Her two most famous songs are The White Cliffs of Dover and
We'll Meet Again.
She continues to support veterans' causes, and co-launched the
Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal last autumn.
Friday, July 30 2010
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