Dame Vera Lynn to be honoured with flypast at her funeral
Dame Vera Lynn’s memory will be celebrated with a flypast at her funeral, it has been announced.
The We'll Meet Again singer - known as the Forces Sweetheart during WW2 - died aged 103 in June and will be laid to rest in a private service in Sussex on Friday July 10th.
A ceremonial Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consisting of a Spitfire and a Hurricane aeroplane is set to fly over the village of Ditchling, where she lived, at noon.
A cortege bearing her body is set to leave the family home at 11.40am and will pause in the village to allow residents to pay their respects.
Read more: Dame Vera Lynn’s life in pictures
Dame Vera will be taken to Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton where servicemen and women will line the route outside the chapel, with a military bearer party in place to carry the coffin inside.
A bugler from the Royal Marines will play music for the service, which will be attended by a senior officer from the Ministry of Defence.
The private ceremony will be for a small number of family only, while a full memorial service is being planned for a later date.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the number of people who may attend funerals is still limited to allow for social distancing.
In May this year, Dame Vera became the oldest artist to score a top 40 album in the UK.
The 103-year-old saw her greatest hits album 100 re-enter the chart at number 30, boosted by commemorations for the 75th anniversary of VE day on May 8th.
Read more: Dame Vera Lynn and Katherine Jenkins release 'We'll Meet Again' in aid of NHS
The Queen also echoed the WW2 anthem during a speech to those who were separated from families and friends during the coronavirus lockdown in April, telling the nation: "We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again."
Dame Vera was born in East Ham, east London, on 20 March, 1917.
She performed for troops on the frontline during the war, often at great personal risk, in countries including Egypt, India and Burma.
