Military Wives Choir founder member Katherine Catchpole says the group is primarily a support network for women who all in the same boat, feeling hopeful and fearful at the same time.

Katherine, who was born and raised in Oxhey village and still has family in the area, has been in the choir from its inception five years ago at the military base at Chivenor in North Devon.

Funnily enough, the group’s most recent charity single - a cover of The Proclaimers, 500 miles is exactly the same distance as a day trip from Watford to Barnstable.

This year, the Military Wives Choir, which now has over 80 bases including two on international soil, are hoping to steal the Christmas number one slot once again with the iconic track.

The choir has teamed up with military charity, Walking with the Wounded, to raise vital funds for homeless veterans this Christmas.

The charity, which is patronised by Prince Harry, has launched a campaign called Walking Home for Christmas and will see people across the country donning on their walking boots and Santa hats to trek - whether that be one mile or five hundred, to Christmas parties or from work to home, to raise money.

Katherine says: “The charity is vital and very close to use - this is who we would turn to for if our husband was badly injured. Not only would the charity be supporting them physically, but also emotionally and their families.

“My husband was injured in the first tour of Afghanistan and although we didn’t use the charity then, many do and we may have to. The servicemen are often deeply affected by what they see out there and their experiences and whether it comes out now or later, the charity is there to support them.”

Katherine and the other wives get together at least every two weeks to rehearse.

She says: “The choir was originally started when our husbands were in Afghanistan - it was a way of the wives getting together and supporting each other.

“It’s just one of those things that when your husband is away you can’t explain it to your friends and family,” the 37-year-old continued, “but your friends in the military can appreciate what you’re going through, whether they have two children or five.

“And you don’t have to say how you feel, because they are just going to know - from silent support to pouring your heart out everyone knows exactly what you are going through.”

Katherine, who sings the alto in the choir, reveals how the group were the people she turned to for support when she went through a “gruelling” IVF treatment - “they were just there for me bringing me things,” she says.

The original single released by the Military Wives Choir in 2011, Wherever You Are, was on the back of Remembrance Day, Katherine explains.

“Remembrance day is about paying your respects not just to the soldiers who fought in the First and Second World War, but those who have fought in battle since then.

“When our husbands returned from Afghanistan, at the Remembrance service we were stood opposite the widows as so many soldiers had lost their lives and it strikes you, the fear that it could be you yet at the same you hope that it is never you,” describes the mother of two, who has done several solo performances since 2011, including performing at Downing Street, with Gary Barlow and at a Cliff Richard concert.

The single, has been produced on a voluntary basis in conjunction with wives from bases at Lympstone and Taunton. 500 miles by the Military Wives Choir is available to download now.