Lady Angela Forbes, by Dorothy Wilding (1921)

Forces Sweetheart (or Forces' Sweetheart) is an accolade given to entertainers, actors and singers originally in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

who have become a favourite of soldiers in the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, though the term is used in other countries. The role of being a favourite among armed forces personnel started during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. During this time, novelist Lady Angela Forbes was considered a "Forces Sweetheart" as a catering organiser for the British army from November 1914."Sweetheart we love you!"
''Daily Express''. Retrieved 30 December 2012 The British Soldiers' Buffets, nicknamed "Angelinas", met every train of wounded as it arrived and were often open 24 hours a day, and food never ran out. Following her, actress and singer

Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as " the s ...

was called The Sweetheart of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

Examples

British forces' sweethearts

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the term "forces' sweetheart" was most commonly associated with

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

, (whose singing (" (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" and " We'll Meet Again" brought great happiness to many in Britain); others included

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

and Anne Shelton. Present-day sweethearts for the British forces include

Nell McAndrew Tracey Jane McAndrew (born 6 November 1973), known as Nell McAndrew, is an English glamour model, TV presenter and fitness trainer. She is also an accomplished amateur athlete, with a marathon personal best time of 2:54:39. Early life McAndrew ...

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Kirsten Orsborn and

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstar ...

. In 2011 London drag queen Richard Rhodes became the first man to be awarded the title. Frances Langford circa 1946

United States

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

, an actress and singer, whose husband served as assistant secretary of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

under president

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, was billed as the "Singing Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts" from World War II to the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Commonwealth countries

Actress Lorrae Desmond, who was at that time best known a singer and recording artist, performed along fellow vocalists Little Patti,

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

Dinah Lee Diane Marie Jacobs (born 19 August 1943), known as Dinah Lee, is a New Zealand singer who performed 1960s pop and adult contemporary music. Her debut single from early 1964, "Don't You Know Yockomo?", achieved No. 1 chart success in New Zea ...

and numerous others as the "forces's sweetheart in Australia" when troops were stationed in Vietnam. Desmond herself toured Vietnam, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Kenya and Somalia.

Literature

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

. ''Forces Sweethearts''. *Eric Taylor. ''Forces Sweethearts: Service romances in World War II''. London: Hale *

Chantelle Fiddy Chantelle Fiddy is a British journalist, columnist, event promoter and music industry professional. She is well known as a commentator on London's grime scene and as a social activist as the former editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift. She is currently con ...

. ''My Life on the Front''.

References

External links

Women in World War II
{{Vera Lynn, state=collapsed British culture * * Women in 21st-century warfare Royal Air Force Nicknames in film Nicknames in music