TWO groups of highly talented musicians will join forces in Helensburgh next week to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The West of Scotland Military Wives Choir and the HMS Neptune Volunteer Band will perform at the Victoria Halls on Thursday, June 6 in a charity concert in support of Help for Heroes and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

The concert, which has been organised by Helensburgh Rotary Club, will be the first time for two years that the choir and the band have shared a bill – and that 2017 concert was a rarity in itself, being the first time since 2014 that the Helensburgh public had had a chance to see both groups perform at the same concert.

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Derek Hall from Helensburgh Rotary Club said: “The music on the night will have something of a wartime theme – the volunteer band’s repertoire includes a number of swing tunes and Glenn Miller numbers from that era, while the choir’s programme will also be reminiscing, with songs made famous by Vera Lynn, as well as a mixture of more modern popular and classical pieces by both groups.”

The choir is led by musical director Miriam Walker, while the volunteer band, for the first time at a concert in Helensburgh, will be under the baton of Lieutenant Commander Julian Rodgers.

The choir, which was set up as the first military wives’ choir in Scotland following the huge success of the 2011 TV series with Gareth Malone, The Choir: Military Wives, boasts around 40 members, from as far away as Glasgow.

The volunteer band – the only such group in the UK not based on the south coast of England – includes military and civilian personnel at HM Naval Base Clyde as well as some players from the Helensburgh area with no direct military links.

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Help For Heroes was established in 2007 and has raised more than £200 million since then to help UK service personnel injured in the line of duty and their families.

The RNRMC, meanwhile, distributed more than £8.1 million in 2015 to projects, charities, causes and individuals in support of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel.

Thursday’s concert begins at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm). Tickets, priced £10, are available in advance from Stewart Travel and G&S Coyle and, subject to availability, at the door on the night.