A FORMER York soldier has teamed up with a group of war veterans for a fundraising project which they hope will be music to the ears of ex-servicemen and their families.

The Yorkshire Warriors are a 25-strong group of veterans from the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire, a predecessor to 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, who have formed a choir to raise money for the Yorkshire Regimental Benevolent Fund.

The choir is looking to record a CD called We Stand Together, the proceeds of which will be used to help soldiers past and present who have fallen on hard times, as well as the families of those killed in action.

They formed after six Yorkshire Regiment soldiers were killed on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq earlier this year.

Ex-serviceman Mark Thompson, 38, pictured below, said one of the families of the six men financially struggled to pay for the funeral of their son.

“We found this very hard to digest,” said Mr Thompson, who lives with his wife Julie and their two children Dillon, 14, and Georgia, 11, in Acomb.

“We think that soldiers should be given the best funeral. We are all Yorkshire lads and we decided we wanted to do something to help the regiment.

“So we put our heads together and came up with the idea of forming a choir to raise cash for the benevolent fund.

“We wanted to raise money to help members and ex-members of all four Yorkshire regiments, as well as supporting families who have lost loved ones with funeral costs and the families of servicemen who have been wounded on duty.”

The Yorkshire Warriors meet each Saturday at the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield. They practice on a stage adorned with pictures of servicemen who have lost their lives in conflict, to serve as a reminder of why they meet, Mr Thompson said.

Mr Thompson said the choir has had five rehearsals so far and plan to record and cut the CD, by the end of next month, following a meeting with a voice coach.

The CD, which will go on chart release and will also be available from iTunes, will sell for £5, with all proceeds going to the Yorkshire Regimental Benevolent Fund.

Mr Thompson said major record label Sony had already pre-ordered 1,000 CDs, and said if the record is a success they would back the release of a Christmas EP to further boost the fund.

The veterans are still deliberating over which songs to put on the CD, but definite include These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ and 50s and 60s classics, with a ‘Yorkshire twist’.

The CD will also carry readings from, among others, Nigel Simpson and Angie Fox. To pre-book a CD, phone Mark Thompson on 074030 09670.

For more information, visit yorkshirewarriors.weebly.com/index.html