Plea made for final £350k to complete Dame Vera Lynn memorial
The Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue campaign has said £350,000 is required to complete the bronzing process and bring the memorial, currently in the Czech Republic, to Britain
A plea to help find £350,000 to complete the Dame Vera Lynn memorial has been made in Parliament.
Baroness Laing of Elderslie urged the Government, fellow peers and those watching proceedings of the House of Lords to consider coming forward to provide the funds.
The Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue campaign has said £350,000 is required to complete the bronzing process and bring the memorial, currently in the Czech Republic, to Britain.
Conservative peer Lady Laing noted the words of forces' sweetheart Dame Vera from the song The White Cliffs Of Dover "brought a tear to the eyes of strong men" during the service of thanksgiving to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day at Westminster Abbey.
Lady Laing, whose father fought in the Second World War, told the House of Lords: "There are memorials all over this country to brave servicemen and brilliant generals and admirals. There is no memorial to Vera Lynn.
"I am trying my best to carry the torch of the Dame Vera Lynn memorial campaign not just because my father was one of those who adored the forces' sweetheart, not just because I was brought up on a series of albums called Hits of the Blitz, More Hits of the Blitz, The Best Hits of the Blitz etc, but because of a promise I made to Sir David Amess, my late colleague in the House of Commons, who started this campaign several years ago to raise the money for a memorial to Dame Vera Lynn.
"I promised David that I would do what I could to help him in his efforts and you will remember that Sir David was brutally murdered in the course of his duties as a Member of Parliament, so I feel a duty to try to carry on the work that he started.
"A place for the memorial has been identified in Dover, most of the funds for this wonderful memorial have been raised and the memorial is actually in production, it has been made, it's not a boring old statue, it's a rather wonderful bronze memorial encompassing... not just one person but the many whose efforts we praise today.
"But more money is needed in order to finish the work that Sir David Amess started.
"I am making an unashamed plea to the minister, to your lordships and through you to a wider audience - much money has been raised by small donations from people who cared, but £350,000 is still needed in order to put up a memorial to the forces' sweetheart, to the person who embodied that spirit that the minister mentioned of the will to carry on.
"Please help."