“I’M sleeping by a railroad track, beneath sheets of polythene – no-one seems to recognise a soldier of the queen.”

The thought-provoking words make up the hard-hitting chorus of a song written by a Northwich grandad Chris Howarth, marking the centenary of the First World War.

As we reach 100 years since Armistice Day, and remember the heroes who fought bravely during the four-year-long Great War, Hartford singer-songwriter Chris has picked up his guitar and penned a song he hopes will make people think of how we treat our ex-service men and women.

“The song is called Soldier of the Queen, and it’s written in the first person narrative of an ex-soldier who finds himself in the situation that I think a lot of ex-service personnel do,” Chris explains.

“He’s slipping into the cracks of society, no longer in the forces, his relationship has broken down, living on the streets, probably suffering from PTSD and his life has fallen apart - effectively gone from hero to zero.

“I think it’s an accurate reflection of what we keep seeing in the news and what see on the streets. The truth is that a lot of homeless people fit that description. These people go from soldiers of the queen to somebody who it seems nobody cares about, and I started to think ‘how has that happened?’”

The 61-year-old, who writes acoustic tracks influenced by folk and rock music, has released two albums and is known to perform sets in Knutsford.

He is due to play at the Knutsford Christmas lights switch-on on Saturday, December 1.

After hearing Chris’s new track, military charity SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) will be adopting the song. It will be made available for purchase on iTunes and promoted on the SSAFA website, with all proceeds going to the charity.

In the meantime, however, Chris hopes to encourage people who hear his song to make a donation to SSAFA.

“If you hear this song and you’re moved by it then please go off and make a contribution to this military charity,” he added.

“It’s not available for purchase at the moment and I’m not making any money out of it. You can listen to the song on Soundcloud for free, but please ask anyone who hears it to make a donation.”

To hear Soldier of the Queen and more of Chris’s music, go to soundcloud.com and search for Chris Howarth.