WCXX

Dame Vera announced the release of the record, Vera Lynn: National Treasure - The Ultimate Collection, today, March 20, her 97th birthday. The collection will include recently discovered tracks which are yet to be released, as well as some of her most memorable and morale-boosting songs as the Forces' Sweetheart.

"It's moving for me to relive those days, and humbling to know that people still think of me - after all, it was simply my duty to keep singing.''

The tracklisting includes more than 40 of her wartime songs, including We'll Meet Again, The White Cliffs Of Dover and You'll Never Know among the five number one hits on the record. Dame Vera's daughter, Virginia, is responsible for the uncovering the unreleased tracks. All of the tracks have been remastered for the commemorative record, with many taking recordings from the original resource. Some tracks have only ever been available on the original 78rpm.

After making her stage debut at the age of seven, 2014 sees Dame Vera's ninth decade in the business, a feat that will be difficult to match and one unique in the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

Last year a book was published showing analysed sales data before official UK record charts were launched in 1952. It showed that Dame Vera would have had a string of chart-toppers, including her first number one with We'll Meet Again in 1940 on Decca Records.

WATCH: ANDRÉ RIEU HONOURS DAME VERA LYNN IN VETERANS CONCERT