A CONCERT featuring the Military Wives Choir has raised £4,000 for Davidstow Parish Church.

On the night of May 11, Davidstow Parish Church churchwarden, Bill Pearce, a self-proclaimed ‘long-term chronic insomniac’, was browsing on his computer, typing in anything which came to mind.

By chance, he brought up the Military Wives Choir site. There were pages of information, including an option to contact a London address by email.

Bill wondered if, being a charity, they performed concerts for other deserving causes. Tongue in cheek at 3.15am, he sent off an email not really expecting a favourable reply.

To his surprise, however, he received one advising him to contact the Military Wives Choir Plymouth events secretary.

To his total elation, they were happy to perform at Davidstow Church on Saturday, December 1 — and come they did.

It was decided to make the concert an admission by ticket only event.

Tickets were put on sale at £12 to include admission, a 60-page souvenir programme, entry voucher into a five-star prize draw and a hand-held Union flag to wave during the second-half sing song of Second World War favourites.

Despite the switching on of Christmas lights at nearby Camelford, St Teath and Tintagel, the event was a sell-out and over 200 packed the church, with extra seating hired from the Otterham Village Hall and Otterham Parish Church.

The church was extravagantly decorated with seemingly miles of bunting and flags, enhanced by dressed models representing the three services — Army, Navy and Air Force — including a modern combat soldier who supervised proceedings from the pulpit, all kindly loaned by the nearby Cornwall at War Museum.

All enjoyed a programme of military related music, a mix of happy and sad, serious and jolly, old and new. Their repertoire included ‘Wherever You Are’, the ballad which launched the Military Wives Choir way back in 2011.

It sold 556,000 copies during the first week and was the 2011 UK Christmas number one. It brought rapturous applause. There followed contributions from their new 2018 album ‘Remember’.

Too soon the evening ended with concert organiser Bill and parish priest the Rev Deryn Roberts presenting a cheque for £500 to the choir as a token of immense gratitude.

On a bleak December night, many visitors were surprised to find a new heating system installed in the church, often described in the past as being cooler inside than out.

The concert raised an amazing £4,000 for church funds.