Gamebirds strip in tribute to man with an eye for ladies

Following in the footsteps of the original Calendar Girls, the group, aged between 18 and 40, wore nothing but wellies and riding gear for the venture.

Calling themselves the Gamebirds, the girls, who all hail from from the south Shropshire and north Herefordshire border, have produced the calendar in memory of 21-year-old Rich Warr, who died last year after a road accident.

Gamebirds Calendar 2013 was the brainchild of Gemma Thomas, Rich's sister, supported by close friends and family. The ladies said they wanted to raise money for Midlands Air Ambulance while paying tribute to Rich.

"Rich had a real love for life and was always the life and soul of the party," said Gemma. "He was enormously popular and I think it is fair to say that he had an appreciation of the opposite sex. He was definitely a bit of a ladies' man.

"We decided to put together this calendar which comprises 24 of us volunteering to pose wearing nothing but field sports gear with props placed over appropriate parts of the body. Rich was very much into the outdoor life and field sports, so this seemed like the obvious theme to follow."

Gemma added:?"Rich died on his way to hospital after the car crash near Shobdon airport. The air ambulance staff were absolutely amazing and did everything they could to save him and it's a charity which is obviously very close to our hearts."

Sales from the calendar have already raised £20,000 and various outlets are stocking them, including Pye Powder in The Bullring, Ludlow, and several stores in Leominster.

Trainee farmer Phoebe James, 22, who struck up a 'gone fishing' post for the April image, said the photo shoots were taken on warm days in the summer.

"The shoot took place on a farm near Leominster," said Phoebe, who lives at Broadfield Court, near Bodenham, whose café is also selling the calendars. It was good fun and there were a lot of laughs, but none of us lost sight of why we were doing something which could otherwise have caused quite a lot of embarrassment."

Among the other models were the duo on the March picture, secretary Natasha Warr, 18, and accountant Sally Davies, 26. Other 'calendar girls' include secretary Felicity Gibbs, 23, Bromyard-based firefighter Pippa Jones, 28, trainee physio Victoria Manning, 23, and mum Zoe Hooper, 32, from Risbury.

Phoebe said: "We were all helped by a few glasses of Dutch courage provided by Lynne and Martin, Gemma's parents."