Dame Vera Lynn and Jeeps

10 Comments

1. Roberto FloresMarch 22, 2015 at 11:38 AM

   Thanks for sharing them, Dave! I have just read that Vera Lynn toured the front during WW2: Egypt, India and Burma. But unfortunately in which of those theatre of operations were taken these shots!
2. peterMarch 22, 2015 at 1:52 PM

   Appears to be Australian Army which would fit with Roberto comments.
3. Terry WhitworthMay 7, 2015 at 12:59 PM

   In photo 2 it was my father, F/O Leslie George Whitworth who is driving the jeep, next to the guy with the moustach, (in Burma). I have the original photograph plus several others taken on the same tour of Burma that Dame Vera performed. She was travelling with her musical director, Len Edwards, who is shown in the top photograph and also the other three. My father, who a pilot, mainly flying Spitfires at the time, and while off duty became one of her drivers also wrote articles for the forces press and I have the original manuscript that he wrote after one of her concerts on the tour. It is signed by Dame Vera and also Len Edwards. A couple of years ago I sent copies of photos and the manuscript to Dame Vera and got a very nice reply.
4. deilersMay 8, 2015 at 1:39 AM

   Hi Terry, Thank you for those wonderful notes. It's always great to put a history to the people in the photos! I'm sure he would appreciate your affection for the photos and his works :-) - Dave
5. Roberto FloresMay 12, 2015 at 11:54 AM

   Amazing info, Terry! I´m totally sure that your father lived incredible stories those days! Many, many thanks!!!
6. Terry WhitworthMay 12, 2015 at 1:15 PM

   Thanks for that Roberto. Yes, I'm sure you're right. Unfortunately my dad died quite young, at 53, and I was only 23 myself so, as often happens, never got to hear too much about wartime events. I have got his log book which catalogues some incredible flights and narrow escapes....crash landings etc. We did talk about the Vera Lynn tour occasionally. She was a big star at the time, of course....a bit like an English Rosemary Cloony I guess. Aparently, in spite of the heat and pretty awful conditions, she never complained about anything, and was a great hit with the armed forces. Just as an amazing coincidence, I was watching the VE Day celebrations on the BBC the other day, and some footage of that very tour came on and included a small clip of movie film...just a couple of seconds long... showing my dad, standing next to that jeep, chatting to Vera. Unbelievable to see that. If I find any more jeep pics of the time, I'll post them. I would guess that the Jeep is still the star on your webpages, rather than whose in them! :) Best wishes, Terry
7. deilersMay 12, 2015 at 2:07 PM

   Terry .. wow! What a cool thing to see!
8. Lynn EdwardsJune 18, 2020 at 12:36 PM

   Terry Whitworth - my late father-in-law Steve Edwards was also a driver for dame Vera Lynn in Burma!
9. David EilersJune 18, 2020 at 1:22 PM

   Hi Lynn, Thanks for sharing that. I bet all the guys wanted to drive her around :-) ... did he have any stories of driving her? - Dave
10. Barry MossJune 6, 2024 at 4:44 AM

    My father Harold Moss was also one of her driver's ( 9th Indian Div + Wiltshire Reg) he had a story that the jeep they were in would make a strange noise and so they called it the "yellow cuckoo".