A name from a very different era sits alongside modern pop stars like Beyonce, Pink and Lily Allen in Britain's top 20 chart this week.

At the age of 92, wartime singer Dame Vera Lynn is riding high in the British music charts for the first time in more than half a century.

Dame Vera was known as the sweetheart of the armed forces during World War II and was credited with keeping up the spirits of millions of soldiers.

Now she has become the oldest living artist to enter the top 20 album chart.

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II, Dame Vera has released a new CD - We'll Meet Again: The Very Best Of Vera Lynn.

Dame Vera's morale-boosting songs sustained Britons through those dark years.

With her nightly radio program, Sincerely Yours, she bridged the gap between the soldiers on the frontline and their loved ones waiting at home.

And while she was a huge hit during those years, her success seven decades later has come as bit of a surprise to the wartime entertainer.

"It's wonderful, but it is rather strange," she said.

"Never did I think when I was recording those songs that 70 years on they would even still be known, let alone being brought out into the public again. So it's very wonderful really."

Dame Vera thinks the latest album resonates with many people who still remember the war.

"I'm sure so many people have many stories to tell - how they heard news and where they were and what they felt," she said.

Even today with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, she believes the younger generation can relate to her songs.

"The boys are away again and all the songs are appropriate," she said.

"The words are universal. I mean they suit anytime, anywhere and for any purpose. There's the simple lyrics, mostly about loved ones.

"We'll Meet Again and White Cliffs are the ones that speak of home really, and I suppose they were the two outstanding songs."