WAR heroes-turned-guitar heroes are hoping to battle their way up the charts in the name of charity.

Sergeant Major Gary Chilton, Sergeant Richie Maddocks and Lance Corporal Ryan Idzi – who call themselves The Soldiers – will make history next Monday when they become the first group of serving British troops to release an album, entitled Coming Home.

The Soldiers – Sgt Maj Chilton, 41, Sgt Maddocks, 37, and L Cpl Idzi, 24 – were put in touch with one another by talent scouts, after L Cpl Idzi reached the boot camp stage of The X Factor two years ago.

Coming Home features classics like Lean on Me, He Ain’t Heavy and Tears in Heaven, with proceeds going to charities including the Army Benevolent Fund, Help For Heroes and the British Legion.

Sgt Maj Chilton, a married father-of-two, serves with the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band based in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire.

He joined the Royal Armoured Corps in 1984 straight from school and has performed around the world, including a special show with Jools Holland at Twickenham.

Sgt Maj Chilton fought in the Gulf War and was presented with The Gulf Medal by The Prince of Wales on his return.

He said: “I’ve been singing for 15 years now and I’ve done my apprenticeship in pubs and clubs. It’s one of those things you think is never going to happen but now, out of the blue, this opportunity has come along and it’s great.

“But the Army comes first and remains our top priority.

I just hope we can be good ambassadors.”

Sgt Maddocks is also a Gulf War veteran, while L Cpl Idzi has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Soldiers’ Coming Home is released on Monday. For details visit the-soldiers.co.uk In a separate venture, Staff Sergeant Graeme Tennick, who is based at Catterick Garrison, announced the release of a single called Fighting Man by his band Morpheus Rising.

Staff Sgt Tennick, 39, wrote the lyrics to Fighting Man based on his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. It follows from Ordinary Man, released last year.

He said: “When I’m on tours of duty, I always have a notebook to write down thoughts and lyrics.

“Fighting Man is a reflective song about the difficulties faced by soldiers returning home.”

It is released on Monday, November 2, with proceeds going to Help for Heroes and the Poppy Appeal.

To download it visit ditto music.com/download-store, or to buy by sms, text “track 4067” to 83262.

The video can be seen at morpheusrising.co.uk