Crowds turn out for Dame Vera Lynn's funeralCrowds turn out for Dame Vera Lynn's funeral
Crowds turn out for Dame Vera Lynn's funeral

Hundreds say goodbye to Dame Vera Lynn in Sussex – in pictures

Hundreds of well-wishers turned out in Sussex today to bid farewell to Dame Vera Lynn.

The Forces’ Sweetheart’s cortege, escorted by members of the armed forces, came to a pause in Ditchling, East Sussex, where Dame Vera lived for 50 years. People started to cheer and sing to show their love and respect for the superstar, who sadly died on June 18, at the age of 103. The moving funeral procession was also accompanied by a Battle of Britain flypast. Two spitfires took to the sky and flew over the centre of the village, leaving crowds emotional. The cortege then headed to Woodvale Crematorium, north of Brighton, where a tri-service route-lining party was waiting outside the chapel, together with a military bearer party ready to receive the coffin. A bugler from the Royal Marines provided a musical tribute inside the chapel. The Ministry of Defence was represented by a senior officer who, along with the bugler, and the small family group were the only people to attend the funeral service.

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