by Thom Morris

For Dame Vera Lynn and Alf George it was a case of We'll Meet Again - literally.

The Second World War Forces Sweetheart and veteran came face to face after 67 years.

The first time Dame Vera and Mr George, of Kennington, met was in the Egyptian desert and now they've greeted each other again at a major exhibition.

Mr George, 90, said: "Her manner was as lively now as it was then.
"This time we spoke for a good few minutes and said 'I don't suppose you remember meeting in Egypt?'

"By coincidence we also used to live close to each other in Barking and Dagenham, so we chatted about the old neighbourhood."

Mr George, of Copperfield Close, was among veterans to meet Dame Vera, 93, recently at the War and Peace military vehicle exhibition at Paddock Wood.

Mr George was serving with the 58th Anti-Tank Regiment at the time, when Dame Vera made an unscheduled stop on her way out to Burma and India to entertain troops.

The aircraft had landed when she suffered air sickness, but she still went on to give a concert to the troops in Egypt.

He said: "We were told there was a show coming on, with her singing. Afterwards a few of us were able to meet her.

"When it was my turn she agreed to autograph a picture of my wife and asked how I was."

Mr George is a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation, being brought back on the paddle steamer the Medway Queen in May 1940.

This year he made an emotional journey back to the French port to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the evacuation.
Mr George's wife Daisy died in 2008, aged 85.

• Dame Vera Lynn is famous as the Forces' Sweetheart, giving morale-boosting concerts to troops during the Second World War.

Her two most famous songs are The White Cliffs of Dover and We'll Meet Again.

She continues to support veterans' causes, and co-launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal last autumn.