A woman from Tonbridge has recorded and released her own song in aid of the Royal British Legion.

18-year-old Elizabeth Mills returned from a trip with the T.S. Brilliant Sea Cadets to historic war sites in Belgium so inspired, that she decided to put her emotions and experiences into a musical form.

With the help of staff at The Music Station in Tonbridge, Elizabeth recorded the single and it is now available on sites including Amazon and iTunes.

She said: "Although I knew about the Great War, when I visited the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot cemetery and other First World War sites in Belgium it was really eye opening.

"I never really realised the scale of the war and during my visit it really hit me. It was a really emotional trip seeing so many names on the Mening Gate Memorial and all the graves at Tyne Cot, and to think that's only two memorial sites."

Within 30 minutes of returning from her trip, Elizabeth had written the music and words for her song. She wanted to relay what she had seen and felt whilst it was still fresh and raw in her mind.

She added: "I’ve written songs and music on my guitar before, so when I returned from the trip naturally I thought I’d just practice some guitar, but within a few minutes of me picking it up again I seemed to have come up with the musical pairing to the verses of the song.

"I feel that the lyrics share a story of not only how a young girl felt, but the experience of many people now when they visit memorials like the ones I went to.

"It’s so hard hitting to see so many head stones, and names of people that died or went missing because of war and the scale of it is so vast that it’s a memory that will stay with you forever, and I tried to get that across though this song because I don’t think people realise how many people lost their lives because of war."

Elizabeth felt it was more important than ever to remember those who gave their lives and wanted to raise money in a more unusual way.

She praises the help and support of staff at the Music Station in Bank Street who gave up their time and expertise to make Elizabeth's wish a reality.

She said: "Everyone there is a professional musician, so they played and arranged the instruments for the track and all I had to do was sing it. I’m not particularly confident when it comes to singing, but they were all so nice there that I soon felt comfortable."

"It was such a pleasure to work with Elizabeth, we all gave up our time and volunteered to help her make the song" - Julie Parker

Julie Parker, director of The Music Station added: "It was such a pleasure to work with Elizabeth, we all gave up our time and volunteered to help her make the song.

"Our guitar player, Sam Woods, played on the track and I played the piano. We mixed it all together and created two versions."

The University of Portsmouth student decided to support the RBL as many members of her family have served in the armed forces. She added: "The Royal British Legion is such a big charity and the custodians of remembrance."

Elizabeth's mum, Pam Mills is a youth officer for RBL in Tonbridge and has played a big part in supporting the refurbishment of the Tonbridge Memorial Gardens.

A statue backed by her and other members of the RBL will be unveiled at the opening ceremony of the gardens on Monday.

http://amzn.to/1pksSMxTo view Elizabeth's single, visit: