Caroline Rawlins of Military Wives Choirs talks to Jane McGowan en route for Guildford Cathedral
When they come to review the past decade, social historians may well dismiss it as a period of self-obsession (mirror selfies), celebrity fixation (schedules dominated by reality TV) and sexual impropriety. A topsy-turvy time, in which the leader of the Western world touted policies on social media and more people voted in a dancing competition than for candidates at the local elections.
Yet amid the negativity and narcissism, one national trend has emerged to restore faith in humanity: the growing propensity for coming together in song. During the course of this decade, thousands have flocked to village halls to strike a harmonious note, inspired by the formation of countless choral groups such as the celebrated Rock Choir. Yet one brand in particular – Military Wives Choirs – has captured the nation’s hearts.
Although one choir had already been established by the wives of two Scots Guards, at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire, it was Gareth Malone’s adoption of the concept in 2011 for his hit BBC show The Choir: Military Wives that first brought it to public attention. The response was huge, spawning a raft of Military Wives choirs across the land.
One of those to catch the vocal bug was Caroline Rawlins, whose husband was stationed at the time at Chivenor, in Devon.
“I saw Gareth’s original programme on the telly and it was just the oomph we needed to get a community choir going where we were,” she explains. “So we found a local music teacher and made a start. We then became one of the first to join Military Wives Choirs, when that launched as a charity the following year.”
The Choir, which regularly attracted three million viewers, did more than simply make music. It also tuned into the realities of Armed Forces life for those left behind while partners are off serving their country.
“It definitely shone a light on a group of people who had been operating in the same way for years without anyone on the outside really knowing or appreciating what it’s like,” admits Caroline. “It’s a pretty singular existence. I’ve been married for 16 years and have lived in 10 different married quarters. By year four, my eldest daughter had been in four different schools. Even close friends, who keep my details in pencil in their address books, saw a different side to my life after the programme.”
The success of the show led the choirs from Chivenor and Plymouth to release a spin-off single, Wherever You Are. Written by Paul Mealor, it hit the top spot on December 19, selling more than 556,000 copies to secure the coveted Christmas Number One for 2011. There are now more than 75 choirs operating under the Military Wives umbrella – open to wives, widows, partners, mothers and sisters – and bonds of friendship form rapidly between the women of these transient communities.
“After Chivenor we were transferred to Andover, in Hampshire, so I joined the Middle Wallop choir there and also became a trustee of the charity [Military Wives Choirs], before we moved again, last September, to Sandhurst.
“The choir means being part of a community of like-minded individuals. When we got to Sandhurst, my husband had been deployed to Nigeria, so I was moving while he was away. It was getting late, the removal men had gone and I was stranded amid all the boxes. I looked at the dog and thought: ‘Now what – a ready meal and a gin?’
“But I remembered seeing a poster saying that the choir was rehearsing at the end of my road, and I thought: ‘Well, I’ll just wander down and say hello.’ So I went and had a cup of tea, and there were some familiar faces who, I knew, completely understood how I was feeling. It was just what I needed.”
Transience is one bond; singing another. But there is also the shared, silent knowledge that, at any moment, loved ones could be called upon to lay down their lives.
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“When I started going out with my husband he was in Northern Ireland,” says Caroline. “There was lots in the media about bombings and sometimes we couldn’t speak, so I didn’t know all that was going on. He would only tell me after he had got back from a ‘caper’, as he calls the more dangerous aspects of the job. I suppose I got used to his work early on. I did sort of know what I was getting into, but it’s still worrying when they are away.
“The choir is a real support though. We’re all pretty stoical, but we take it in turns to have a meltdown. In the end you just have to get on with it, especially when there are children. You put a front on. When they say ‘I really miss daddy,’ you have to be strong enough to reply: ‘So do I, but let’s go out and do something.’”
Following the success of the single and various concert appearances, the Military Wives were approached by Take That star Gary Barlow to perform alongside him on Sing – a track co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber – at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert in May 2012. The song, which also featured singers from across the Commonwealth and reunited the choir with Malone, hit No 1 on June 3 and sold more than 327,000 copies. The choir’s subsequent appearance with Barlow at the spectacular outside Buckingham Palace was one that Caroline will never forget.
“Doing the recording at Abbey Road was amazing enough, but the concert was just phenomenal!” she exclaims. “Here I am, a housewife and picture framer living in Surrey, and I get to do something like that. It just transports you.”
So, while still supporting her husband, Caroline now finds herself hitting the road with the Sandhurst choir, performing everywhere from local theatres to top London concert halls. Later this month she will be part of the Military Wives Choirs concert at Guildford Cathedral: five choirs joining forces for some traditional Christmas music and tracks from a new album, Home For Christmas. Recorded all over Britain, the album features more than 1,000 women from 60 choirs.
“We went up to RAF Northolt where there’s a recording studio, of all things, and it’s all very professional. You see people behind the screen, like in the movies. It’s very exciting.”
And while life remains busy for the mum of two, the choir continues to play a vital part in it.
“It gives you a space to be you,” she says. “You are often a plus one in this military life, but the choir enables you to carve out a niche as ‘Caroline’, not just Mrs Rawlins. And I love the sound – 50 of us all together is just really fab. The whole is so much more than the sum of the parts.”
Caroline’s daughters have both shown an interest in singing, the elder having already joined a choir, and both they and their “media shy” dad are “very proud” of all that Caroline and the choirs have achieved.
“Oh, they are all very supportive. My husband is really up for it. Serving people get some phenomenal opportunities, so I think he’s glad I’m creating some of my own.”
As for Christmas, this year will be a traditional family affair.
“There are years when my husband is away, but thankfully we’re all together this time. However, there are members of our choir whose other halves are away, which makes singing Christmas songs in such a beautiful setting as the cathedral all the more poignant. But at least it keeps them focused on something fun until their loved one returns.”
- The Military Wives Choirs’ Home For Christmas Tour arrives at Guildford Cathedral on Dec 18. Tickets: £27.50. Visit: militarywiveschoirs.org
- Accompanying album available from music outlets including Amazon, Spotify and iTunes
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