The Poppy Girls To Perform For The Queen

Five girls whose fathers are in the armed forces are following in the footsteps of Military Wives by forming a group which will perform for the Queen.

The quintet, called The Poppy Girls, has been assembled after a nationwide talent hunt and will sing the official 2013 Poppy Appeal single.

The group, made up of children who have a parent serving in the UK or overseas, have recorded the Regina Spektor song The Call (No Need To Say Goodbye).

They will perform the tune in front of the Queen at next month's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

The girls are: Megan Adams, 10, from Stirling, Florence Ransom, 10, from Petersfield, Alice Milburn, 13, from Portsmouth, Bethany Davy, 15, from Dartford, and Charlotte Mellor, 17, from Cambridge.

They were picked from around 1,000 hopefuls.

The Royal British Legion and Decca Records worked together to recruit the group, which represents the Royal Navy, the Army and the RAF.

With a TV audience of more than six million viewers, hopes are high that the girls will mark their recording debut with a huge chart hit.

Charles Byrne, the Legion's head of fundraising, said: "This is a hauntingly beautiful track sung by a group of girls who know what it means to have family members constantly placed in harm's way.

"We have a major theme in this year's Poppy Appeal around families, so there is no more powerful way of reflecting that than through the voices of these exceptionally talented young people."

The girls' track will be released on Remembrance Sunday, November 10.