News / History
The Mayor of Brunswick who sang on a number one hit record
Loreto York cherished memories of Vera Lynn until his dying days
Barry York
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My father, Loreto York, once stood in a London recording studio among a crowd of servicemen singing beside Vera Lynn, the beloved British singer whose emotional wartime songs became symbols of hope and comfort during World War II.
They were not professional performers, just Royal Air Force servicemen and soldiers gathered to provide the rough, cheerful chorus for ‘Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart’ – the recording that became a major international hit and the first by a British artist to reach number one in America.
A few years later, in 1954, Loreto migrated from London to Melbourne with his wife, Olive, and their young son, yours truly.
IThe family settled in Brunswick, then a very industrial working-class city with many immigrants from the UK and southern Europe.
Loreto, who had become a socialist during his war service, soon became deeply involved in trade union activism and Brunswick community life. In time, this former RAF serviceman and factory worker would become Mayor of Brunswick – first in 1972 and again in 1976.
More than 60 years after that recording session, as my father lay dying from pancreatic cancer in a nursing home in 2009, I wrote to Vera Lynn hoping that an autographed photograph and personal message might reconnect him with that extraordinary moment from his youth and bring him some comfort in his final months.
In the letter, I told her about his wartime service, his later life and achievements in Brunswick, and the story he had carried with him for decades about singing on that famous recording at Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens London.
Loreto was born Loreto Meilak in Sliema, Malta, in 1918, to a family from Gozo. He volunteered for the RAF in 1940 and served in Malta, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Palestine and France before later being stationed in Scotland and London. In 1947, while living in London, he changed his surname from Meilak to York.
In an oral history interview recorded for the National Library in 1989, my Dad recalled that a vocal group called The Key Notes briefly coached the men to sing in harmony, but when the first take was completed, the producers thought it sounded too polished.
They were told to sing again, this time more casually and spontaneously, so the recording would capture the warmth and camaraderie of ordinary troops rather than a professional choir.
Because the recording was such a success, the servicemen were later invited back for another session. One of the songs recorded then was ‘When Swallows Say Goodbye’, though my dad remembered it as “a flop.”
For several hours of recording, the men received only a cup of tea, two biscuits and one pound each. There were no contracts or royalties – just a fleeting experience that unexpectedly became part of popular music history.
From left: Loreto York during World War Two; Loreto with his wartime medals; the signed photo from Vera Lynn.
Loreto remembered Vera Lynn warmly. He said she moved easily among the servicemen, smiling, chatting and asking where they had served during the war. He believed she always felt a special affection for servicemen because her own husband had been stationed overseas while she travelled entertaining troops during the conflict.
Whenever I hear ‘Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart’ now, I think not only of the endurance of the wartime generation and the struggle against fascism, but also of my father and his small place in that history. It is extraordinary to think that somewhere among those backing voices on the record is his voice.
Sadly, the autographed photograph arrived only weeks after he died on October 5, 2009. I wrote again to thank Vera Lynn and explained that my father had passed away before it reached him. She replied with a letter expressing her condolences. Vera herself lived to the ripe old age of 103, passing away in England in 2020.
Barry York is an acclaimed oral historian who grew up in Brunswick and now lives in Canberra. He returns regularly to his old neighbourhood and maintains a popular Facebook page, Memories of living in Brunswick, Melbourne.
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