'Our choir brings us together when our husbands are at war'

Angela Fyffe and Debbie Gatrill say singing brings people together

It is more than 15 years since a choir was set up at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, for women whose husbands or partners were fighting in Afghanistan and now their story is featuring in a stage musical.

"A lot of the wives, it was the first time their husbands or partners were away in a warzone area," said Angela Fyffe, who has been a member since the choir began in April 2010.

Nicky Clarke, whose idea it was, added: "We needed something to bring us together to support one another."

The group inspired a BBC documentary featuring TV choirmaster Gareth Malone, a feature film, dozens of other choirs across the country and now, a stage musical at York Theatre Royal.

"It's very difficult to describe the feeling when you know your husband is at war and you can't communicate with him," said Debbie Gatrill, chair of Catterick Garrison's Military WAGS (wives, affiliates, girlfriends and servicewomen) Choir.

"It's just very scary. You don't know whether they're coming home, whether they're injured."

The Military WAGS Choir are due to perform at the York Theatre Royal before a performance of Military Wives the Musical

Ms Gatrill, 63, whose husband was serving in the RAF in Afghanistan as a chaplain when the group started, said singing "brings everyone together".

"It doesn't matter what rank your husband is, everybody's in it together. That's really important.

"Outsiders don't really understand because they've not got their partners away for six months to eight months at a time," Ms Fyffe, 58, said.

The group started with 12 to 15 members, she said, and they remain "really good friends".

She described herself as "not a perfect singer", but said singing "makes you happy".

"It was a joke to start off with that I got involved, but I've never looked back since."

However, after more than 200 performances, she said she still gets nervous.

She will be among about 30 members of the group singing at the York Theatre Royal on 16 September, before a performance of Military Wives the Musical.

The musical tells the true story of a group of women whose husbands and boyfriends are fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan

The stage show, which opens in York on Wednesday, was written and directed by Debbie Isitt, known for creating the Nativity films, a series of family comedy films.

"When I heard there were rumours, producers were trying to put together a new musical about the military wives, I was like, 'pick me, pick me - it's got to be mine'."

Her love of the story started with the TV documentary fronted by Gareth Malone, she said.

"Me and my mum used to watch it together, it was like a bit of event television for us. We had to watch, had to laugh, had to cry."

It is also an "emotional" story for the cast, according to Emma Crossley, who plays a character called Bex.

"You can't explain what this feeling is. We feel really proud and honoured to be telling the story."

Founding member of the Catterick Garrison choir, Nicky Clarke (right), was invited to rehearsals of the new musical

Ms Clarke, who founded the choir at Catterick, was invited to rehearsals of the musical.

She said: "It made me laugh and it made me cry.

"The joy and the sadness and everything in between were incredibly moving."

She said the whole story "rang true".

"My husband phoned me one time from Afghanistan and said 'I've heard you on the radio! It was amazing. I was in the Naafi (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) and I was so proud of you.'

"This was something that was really needed for these women."

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