A CHARITY concert raised £1,500 in commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.

Chamber choir The Harmonium Singers marked the anniversary of the outbreak of the war with a concert at St Mary’s Church in Andover on 19 July.

Hard-hitting readings and poetry about the horrors of war were set against peaceful music played by the 14- piece orchestra.

The choir raised all the money necessary to put on the event in advance so that all ticket proceeds could go to three military charities – ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and The RAF Benevolent Fund.

A £300 grant from Andover Town Council helped to put on the event and there were donations of wine from Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Music included Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine, the Albinoni Adagio for Strings and Organ and Edgar Bainton’s visionary anthem And I Saw a New Heaven.

Among the 150 who attended were Mayor of Test Valley Councillor Jan Lovell and Brigadier Robin Bacon, chief of staff at ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, who spoke about the work of all three charities.