Forces Sweetheart is a title given to some entertainment women mainly in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, although it was also later used in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

First World War

The role had its origins in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Lady Angela Forbes, (born 8 Grafton Street, Mayfair, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, on 11 June 1876, died on 22 October 1950 in Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

), was the Forces Sweetheart at camp and a wartime catering organiser for the British army from November 1914. The British Soldiers' Buffets, commonly known as Angelinas, met every train of wounded as it arrived and were often open 24 hours a day, and food never ran out. Following her, Elsie Janis

Elsie Janis

Elsie Janis was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and screenwriter. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as "the sweetheart of the AEF" .-Early career:...

 was called The Sweetheart of the AEF.

Second World War

Sweethearts during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 included Vera Lynn

Vera Lynn

Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...

 (now Dame Vera Lynn), whose singing ("There'll be blue birds over the White Cliffs of Dover" and "We’ll meet again

We'll Meet Again (song)

"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles ....

, don’t know where, don’t know when") brought great happiness to many in Britain; Gracie Fields

Gracie Fields

Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...

; and Anne Shelton.

Post war

Frances Langford

Frances Langford

Julia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...

, whose husband was assistant secretary of the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 under president Harry Truman, was "Singing Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts" from World War II to the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

.

Present

Present day sweethearts include Nell McAndrew

Nell McAndrew

Nell McAndrew is an English glamour model.-Career:...

, Claire Sweeney

Claire Sweeney

Claire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...

, Lucy Pinder

Lucy Pinder

Lucy Katherine Pinder is an English glamour model, from Winchester, Hampshire.-Modelling career:In the summer of 2003, Pinder was spotted by a freelance photographer while sunbathing on Bournemouth beach...

, Michelle Marsh, Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...

 and Hayley Westenra

Hayley Westenra

Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...

.

Literature

• Joanna Lumley. Forces Sweethearts.
• Eric Taylor. Forces sweethearts: Service romances in World War II.
• Chantelle Fiddy. My Life on the Front.
• Cookie Monstar AKA Richard Rhodes. "first male to become a 21st century Forces Sweetheart 2010"