A GROUP of Army wives and girlfriends in Abingdon have joined forces for a fundraising calendar for injured servicemen.

The calendar was the idea of mum-of-two Liz Quickenden, who lives in the town.

She arranged for the group of women from Dalton Barracks to pose for the pictures which now feature in the calendar for the charity Walking With The Wounded.

Mrs Quickenden, 31, said she hoped to print 800 calendars and sell them for £8 each, raising £6,400 towards a £10,000 target.

She added that the calendars were now being produced, and would be sold in the run-up to Christmas around Abingdon, in Royal British Legions, at the barracks and at local independent stores.

Mrs Quickenden, a computer sales administrator who also helps run a photography business, said: “I know quite a few people in the Army and it’s close to my heart, so I wanted to do something to help injured troops.

“Most of the photos were taken during a recent shoot at the barracks while some were taken at Didcot Railway Centre.

“Initially we thought there should be a Land Girls theme and then we went for a 1950s pin-up look, although we made sure we kept things tasteful.

“There are 13 women involved whose partners are with 4 Logistic Support Regiment and there are two more from the barracks in Aldershot.

“I got the idea for this when some servicemen suggested a naked salute in support of Prince Harry after the scandal of his naked photos in Las Vegas.

“That got me thinking about a fundraising calendar for Walking With The Wounded, but we quickly decided we wanted the photos to be tasteful.”

Mum-of-one Mandy Moorhouse, 38, whose husband Corporal Dave Moorhouse, 40, is based at Dalton Barracks, said: “There are a few cheeky shots, but all the photos are quite tasteful.

“October features a pumpkin shoot and it looks a bit like I’ve got no clothes on, but I have.

“The calendar will be the talk of the barracks and I hope guys on the base will buy copies.”

Nikki Billings, 32, is married to Captain Michael Billings, who has been in the Army 14 years.

She said: “We have had a chance to help raise money for a very worthy cause.

“Not only that, we have all met some lovely ladies and had a lovely time having our hair and make-up done.

“The outfits that we had were wonderful and I hope we are able to sell loads of calendars.”

Walking With The Wounded was established in 2010 to help injured servicemen.

It aims to fund the retraining and re-education of servicemen and women, both veterans and those leaving the Armed Forces.

A spokesman for the charity welcomed the project.

Another group of wives and girlfriends at Dalton Barracks have formed a military wives’ choir, inspired by TV choirmaster Gareth Malone.