Forces Sweetheart (or Forces' Sweetheart) is an accolade given to entertainers, actors and singers. Originally the term was used 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to note popular showbiz personalities that became a favourite of soldiers in the

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

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During this time, novelist Lady Angela Forbes was considered a "Forces Sweetheart" as a catering organiser for the

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 Forbes, in the United States 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 sw ...

was called The Sweetheart of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

Examples

British forces' sweethearts

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

, (whose singing ("

(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" is a popular World War II song composed in 1941 by Walter Kent to lyrics by Nat Burton. Made famous in the United Kingdom by Vera Lynn's 1942 version, it was one of Lynn's best-known re ...

" and "

We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, resonating with ...

" brought great happiness to many in Britain); others included

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she 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 serving 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. She was named Yorkshi ...

Katherine Jenkins Katherine 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,

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

, and Sarah Dennis was named as The Veterans Sweetheart in 2014. In 2011 London drag queen Richard Rhodes became perhaps the first man in the history of the term to be called a forces' sweetheart. 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, was billed as the "Singing Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts" from World War II to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Commonwealth countries

Lorrae Desmond Lorrae Desmond (born Beryl Hunt; 2 October 1929 – 23 May 2021) was an Australian Gold Logie-award-winning singer, recording artist, radio and television presenter, character actor, and playwright, with a career that spanned over 55 years bot ...

, 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. He rose to national prominence in the mid-1960s as a pop star and teen idol, backed by The Playboys. His 1965 double A-side " Que Sera Sera"/" Shakin' All Over" w ...

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 Zeal ...

and numerous others as the "forces' 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 Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

. ''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 Culture of the United Kingdom * * Women in 21st-century warfare Royal Air Force Nicknames in film Nicknames in music