Royal Marine WAGS on parade for charity calendar

By Sadie Whitelocks

Last updated at 8:50 AM on 22nd September 2011

Scantily clad, writhing on piles of rose petals and leopard-print throws, 12 women have been revealing their sexy side in a bid to raise thousand of pounds for charity.

The women - all wives and girlfriends of Royal Marine service men - took part in a raunchy photoshoot to get the snaps that have been turned into a calendar in aid of The Royal Marines Charitable Trust.

Becci Banfield, 24 and Lois Powell, 20, had the initial idea of sending photographs of themselves to their partners on the front line in Afghanistan to ensure that they were never far away from their minds, but the idea soon evolved into the ambitious fundraising project.

Ingenious: Wives and girlfriends of serving Royal Marines have come up with a way of ensuring they're never far from their loved-ones with a raunchy charity calendar

To recruit their calendar girls the two friends took to Facebook, posting a message to others who have partners serving, asking for volunteer models.

They were soon inundated with responses and had to whittle the 55 applicants down to the final 12, basing their choices not just on looks but also on each applicant's personal story.

Becci, from Cheltenham, said: 'We had the idea of getting professional photos done to send to our boyfriends as a reminder of what was waiting for them at home and then thought we can raise some money out if this.

On a mission: A Facebook advert was created to recruit the amateur models

Becci Banfield, 24 and Lois Powell, 20, had the initial idea of sending professional photographs of themselves to their partners on the front line in Afghanistan but then decided on creating a calendar

'We didn’t want to do a military theme because that has been done and wanted to make it classy.

'All of the girls who entered were gorgeous - it was a very difficult task picking a final 12.'

Once the final-line up was confirmed the girls travelled to My Boudoir Photography in Manchester to have their pictures done.

Nicola Grimshaw-Mitchell, who photographed the girls, said: 'They were all so nervous like most girls who come for shoots - they were excited but sick with nerves.

'I had no trouble posing them - they were all so gorgeous and had some amazing outfits.'

Joyce Brooks Lingerie in Cheltenham provided complimentary underwear for the WAGs to wear while a number of companies then paid £150 to sponsor a page of the calendar, which enabled the girls to pay for an initial print run of 1,000.

Selection process: All of the 55 Facebook applicants were whittled down to the final twelve

Selection process: All of the 55 Facebook applicants were whittled down to the final 12

All of the lingerie worn by the women was donated by Joyce Brooks Lingerie in Cheltenham

Local support: Companies paid £150 to sponsor a page of the calendar which enabled the girls to pay for an initial printing run of 1,000

It’s now hoped the calendar will sell by the bucket-load with all proceeds going to The Royal Marines Charitable Trust, which wants to raise £6million by 2014.

A spokesperson for the RMCT said: 'It’s tremendous to see what the girls have done, it takes a lot of courage to come forward and take part in such a charitable cause.'

A group of Yorkshire women were the original calendar girls, producing a nude calendar with strategically placed props to raise money for Leukaemia Research under the auspices of the Women's Institute in 1999.

To date they have raised over £2million and inspired the 2003 hit comedy Calendar Girls starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

Becci added: 'The overwhelming response from the companies and individuals who have sponsored the production costs of the calendar has been beyond belief.'