Dame Vera Lynn has criticised modern entertainers for failing to back troops in Afghanistan. Skip related content
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Dame Vera Lynn: Pop stars need to support troops
The 92-year-old We'll Meet Again singer - who travelled as far afield as Burma, Egypt and India for soldiers during the Second World War - questioned why modern pop stars were not going to the same lengths to boost morale.
She said: "It's strange that there aren't any special songs for Afghanistan.
"I don't know what songwriters are doing these days. Nowadays a lot of them can't sing unless they've got all their equipment, and it's not easy carting that stuff around in the jungle. When I was touring, it was just me and a pianist loaded onto a truck.
"I had to sleep in a grass hut and wash in a bucket. No make-up, because it just slid off my face in the heat.
"I couldn't even wear the one evening dress I had with me - bought with a whole year's allowance of clothing coupons - because it turned black with perspiration the moment I put in on."
She said more could be done to boost awareness of what the effort in Afghanistan was achieving.
She added: "In the 1940s, there was a real sense, back at home, that we were 'all in it together'.
"I don't think there is that sense about the war in Afghanistan and I think it's a shame."
Despite being a pin-up for troops during the Second World War, she said: "I was never a glamour girl".
She added: "I was the girl they left behind, their sister or the girl who lived round the corner. There was never any fancy business from the boys. They were completely respectful, always."
Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, is strolling back onto the stage after a break of 33 years.
