WARTIME entertainer Dame Vera Lynn is to visit the Isle of Wight on Armistice Day, at the invitation of two Island schools.
She will be the guest of honour at a special remembrance service at St Saviour’s on the Cliff Church, Shanklin, hosted jointly by Priory School, Shanklin, and Forelands Middle School, Bembridge.
Dame Vera, 92, whose morale-boosting songs We’ll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover helped the country through the Second World War years, has great-grandchildren at both schools.
She visited before, in 2003.
Priory School principal Edmund Matyjaszek said everyone was looking forward to her visit.
"We are absolutely delighted. It’s a privilege and an honour to welcome Dame Vera Lynn to the school," he said.
The service, led by Priory School chaplain the Rev Alan Swanborough, will include a presentation by pupils from both schools on the importance of remembering.
It will include poems, songs and readings, as well as the usual prayers and two minutes’ silence.
Dame Vera, who has topped the charts with her new greatest-hits collection, will then return to Priory School to attend a monthly war assembly and speak to pupils about her experiences.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to hear directly from a central figure of the time and it will give pupils a unique historical insight," said Mr Matyjaszek.
The service at St Saviour’s Church, which seats around 600 people, will start at 11am on November 11.
l Singer Deborah Hodgson, who performed at this year’s IW Festival, will visit Priory School on Monday, Novem-ber 9, to talk to performing arts and business studies students about her music. She will also give them tips on launching their own career in the music industry.
Reporter: emilyp@iwcpmail.co.uk