TWO local musicians have created a new song to celebrate Remembrance Day.
Ralph Shaw and Chris McShane – a musical duo from Penistone known as McShane and Shaw – wrote ‘Pension for a Soldier’ to coincide with the day.
Featuring the Millhouse Green Male Voice Choir, the song tells the true story of one of his ancestors who fought in the American Civil War.
Ralph said: “Chris is of Irish descent.
“He was looking at his family history and discovered a man named Michael McShane who moved to America to escape the famine in Ireland.
“The Civil War was ongoing there and he got mixed up with that and was very badly injured.
“By the time he returned home he saw people who had not suffered as much getting higher pensions.”
Having found letters his ancestor wrote about the issues with his pension, Chris felt inspired to create a song re-telling his story.
The pair are donating half of the song’s sales proceeds to the Poppy Appeal.
“If we were big stars we could throw money at things like this, but when working on community projects you’ve got to be resourceful,” Ralph added.
“You never know if you’ll be able to pull it off like you hear it in your head.
“We managed to pull it all together though – the choir members were brilliant.”
You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dvtxORrfvA
