Prestigious choir place for ex soldier
AFORMER soldier who had undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for more than three decades has landed a coveted place in the prestigious Invictus Choir.
Alan Willetts, 60, is a member of Haslingden-based Veterans In Communities and was offered a place on the choir two years ago, but he was not in the right place mentally to accept it.
Alan said: “After I was heard singing in a concert with Sarah Dennise, the Veterans’ Sweetheart, I was invited by The Royal British Legion to sing at the Trafford Centre for Poppy Day Manchester.
“Sarah was leading the concert at the centre and I took to the stage to perform one song, ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserables.
“When I finished, I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye because the song meant a lot to me and the audience greeted me with rapturous applause.”
Sarah encouraged Alan to sign up for an audition for the Invictus Choir and at Catterick Barracks, North Yorkshire, he again sang ‘Bring Him Home’ and a song he written and composed himself, ‘Shadow Soldier’.
He was immediately offered a place in the tenor section of the choir.
Alan, who lives in Tottington, said: “I was 18 when I signed up to the Royal Engineers; my dad had just died and I guess I was running away.
“I spent eight years in the army and was posted to different locations. I left the service to get married and at the time, I thought I had no problems.
“My grandad was in the Manchester Regiment and fought in the Battle of the Somme and my father served in the Green Howards, so I came from a military background.
“My mum was one of the best singers on the club circuit in the North West – Doreen Gillian – and as a child I remember watching her sing in the clubs.”
After a string of jobs, including retraining as a nurse, Alan’s marriage failed in 2005.
In 2014 he was struggling with low mood and morbid thoughts and saw his GP. He was referred to Combat Stress and was diagnosed with PTSD; he was also introduced to Veterans In Communities.
Alan said: “I take my hat off to Operations Manager Bob Elliott.
“He had the right idea to set VIC up and he knows how to get the best out of everyone who comes in the centre.”