Dame Vera Lynn's face appears on white cliffs of Dover as she turns 100

There were no bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover as Dame Vera Lynn turned 100 today, but they received a makeover of a different kind.
Dame Vera Lynn's image was projected onto the white cliffs of Dover to celebrate her 100th birthday. Pic: PA.Dame Vera Lynn's image was projected onto the white cliffs of Dover to celebrate her 100th birthday. Pic: PA.
Dame Vera Lynn's image was projected onto the white cliffs of Dover to celebrate her 100th birthday. Pic: PA.

To celebrate the landmark birthday, Dame Vera's image was projected on to the cliffs, as she officially became a centenarian.

The 350ft image of the Forces' Sweetheart, who is best known for her 1942 song White Cliffs of Dover, is also in celebration of the release of her new album.

Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.
Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.
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Vera Lynn 100 features new re-orchestrated versions of her most beloved music alongside her original vocals.

It is thought the record will make her the first singer to have released a new album as a centenarian.

The album also features a previously unreleased version of Rod Stewart's Sailing - a surprise find, as it was not widely known she had recorded the track.

Dame Vera said: "It is an unprecedented honour to have my birthday marked in such a beautiful way, and I am truly thrilled by this wonderful gesture.

Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.
Dame Vera Lynn is the first singer to release a record as a centenarian. Pic: PA.
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"As we look to the white cliffs on Monday, I will be thinking of all our brave boys. The cliffs were the last thing they saw before heading off to war and, for those fortunate enough to return, the first thing they saw upon returning home.

"I feel so blessed to have reached this milestone and I can't think of a more meaningful way to mark the occasion."

The record comes eight years after Dame Vera became the oldest living artist to land a UK No. 1 album and also marks the wartime singer's 93 years in the industry as she made her stage debut at the age of seven.