Wor Vera wartime singer hits 100 care homes performance

Deborah Taylor-Smith, known as Wor Vera, performed her 100th care home show as part of Wor Vera’s Lockdown Tour at the Elizabeth Fleming Care Home in Hetton-le-hole on Thursday, May 28, where she was joined with daughter Maysie, ‘Mini Vera’, for the final song, Vera Lynn’s We Will Meet Again.

The final performance was originally set for a Darlington care home but was moved due to rescheduling and cancellations.

The mum and daughter then performed for their street in Hebburn for the tenth and final Clap for Carers at 8pm.

Ms Taylor-Smith said: “It was really emotional. This tour has made so many people happy, I know that not only from their faces but family members have been in touch thanking me for making their relatives smile.

"For Maysie, her confidence has been boosted after seeing me perform so much and is doing so herself now. She said singing made her feel happy and that she felt it in her heart, and I told her that's how it makes me feel too."

The singer, who nearly fainted during the 100th performance due to the heat but said the adrenaline kept her going, plans to end the lockdown tour on the 123rd performance in Stanley, “where it all began”, on June 11 – on her father’s birthday, who was a royal marine and fought in the Falklands War.

She expects to be back on the road again at the end of June for a second tour, as care homes in the region and further afield have reached out.

All 100 performances have been for free as the singer wanted to do bring entertainment to the vulnerable currently shielded due to the ongoing pandemic. She is now putting together care packages for the homes, consisting of flowers, games and treats, to continue making people smile.

She added: "If I wasn't signing, Id be volunteering somewhere else. That's just the type of person I am."

Click here to donate and help Wor Vera put together care packages for care homes across the North-East.