Summer Camp 2015 - the best yet?

18th June and I fall really ill, so ill....the day before the biggest weekend in the calendar for the charity I was absolutely devastated.

Luckily I have the most amazing husband who dosed me up and got me to Pirbright on 19th June ready for the arrival of 300 people who were coming to Summer Camp, the sun was shining down and some of my very good friends came to get us set up and sit on the check in desk welcoming all the families arriving. Summer Camp has begun!

Saturday was a day full of events; Survival, Woodland cookery, Climbing wall, Dance, Craft, Circus skills, Swimming, Football with Chelsea FC Foundation and then rain...the rain came and oh it was a storm! Under cover we were still having fun with Laser Quest, Inflatables, Crazy Golf, Bouldering, Dazzle & Fizz, Cross bow and tin can alley! (which I was particularly bad at!)

I walked back to the site with my husband reflecting on the day so proud to see all the tents pitched, hearing all the Little Troopers talk about their day.

A Little Trooper made my Saturday, Mason came running up to me and he'd made me a loom band bracelet to say thank you for all the fun he'd had, I was so touched....I'm still wearing it now. Those moments make all the hard work worthwhile.

The rain didn't last but the fun did, Sunday was another day of activities with Orienteering and Pop Academy with lots of Little Troopers singing their little hearts out! I always get a little emotional watching the show at the end of a Pop Academy and I did cry a tear or two!

Summer Camp is exactly what I wanted to achieve with setting up the charity, families connecting and spending time together, no electronics just a field and fun all together....new friends and old...one big community.

I hugged so many, chatted so much about the future for Little Troopers and came away thinking it was the best Summer Camp yet......I can not wait for next year our 5th annual camp and I came away feeling a new sense of motivation to continue and fight to ensure the charity remains for all the Little Troopers.

Here's to us sticking together!

Louise xxxxxx

Guest Post - Our Married Unaccompanied life

I want to get as many insights into the different ways we live as military families, this post is from a family who live married unaccompanied. If you would be interested in writing a blogpost let me know! Louise xx

The Allen Family:

We live separately not through choice but through circumstances, my husband left the army shortly after we married in 2001 and joined the police force. We moved out of our home town for this and 6 years later and two children he re-joined the Army! This was no easy situation, however we muddled through. I decided to stay in our home town as our first child was about to start primary school and we had only recently arrived back in our home town of Torquay in Devon.  When I met my husband, I had a good career in local authority employment and had bought several properties on my own. Whilst married we had our own property and I did not want to lose a “home” for married quarters. For me, I wanted the same school throughout the early years.
 

His first posting back in was Op Herrick 10! My worst fear but we got through the time with my good friends and family around us and our sons school were an amazing support. On his return, we settled into the commuting at weekend’s lifestyle. He has so far been at four different locations and 2 tours of Afghanistan! Employment for me is excruciatingly difficult being unaccompanied. But that’s another story!
 

It can be a lonely time during the week but I keep busy and the children and I have settled into our little routines, I encourage them to do outside school activities as much as possible to make the week pass quickly. I personally do feel often; very isolated from the Army community and even forget I am an Army wife at times. I do get bogged down with the daily grind of lonely nights, not being able to go out in the week unless I pay an expensive sitter, always attending sports days, parent evening, school plays  etc. alone; but I have accustomed to it.  Military social media groups keep me in the loop too!
 

Our children are now 12 and 8 but our youngest suffers with separation issues, she is my little “cling on” but is also a daddy’s girl, she adores anything military related, camo coloured clothes,  DM boots (preferably green/sand coloured) and every Hero’s day at school, dresses as Dad. She is rather well known for it around her school now! Our eldest struggles with the thought of another tour or gets very emotional if Afghanistan is mentioned or talked about but he tends to hide it and just says, “don’t talk about it, It makes me cry” Thankfully we do visit barracks on occasions but we don’t know anyone on site as we are not there often enough.
 

I ask myself daily why don’t we just move to MQ? I guess many would and do ask the same – My answer is always because although both our children want us to live together, neither want to leave their school and friends either. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way here; but I think I made the right choice.
 

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures is a site I found when my husband was on his second Op Herrick tour (17) – this was a particularly difficult tour for all of us but the separation packs and support for Little Troopers; as you call them, is just wonderful.  This is our children’s only link with the military world and makes them both feel a little special to be part of it.
 

Thank you for all you do at My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

Gifts I’m grateful for this year

As the Little Troopers open their presents today, I thought I would share with you the things that I have been grateful for this year. 

The first is the incredible support from you; our supporters and the Little Troopers. We have had a fun year with our second trip to Germany, this time Paderborn and a trip to Northern Ireland planned for January 2015.  We’ve sent out thousands of Separation Packs, written hundreds of Birthday cards for Little Troopers and you’ve bought lots and lots of hoodies to show your support.

Second was our amazing Summer Camp where over 300 people camped out, got together and shared their experiences of being part of the Army family.  This sharing continued online through the Facebook, gathering ideas and coping mechanisms for the time our soldiers are away.

The third is the thing that makes this all possible – Fundraising. I can’t believe that you have raised over £15,000 this year purely from fundraising activities and donations so we can continue to support our Little Troopers. The £1,000 that we recently received from Tesco (as part of my nomination for Mum of the Year) has really helped us develop our website and add to the community section to help even more families connect.

And finally… we have received some amazing media coverage this year from the Calendar appearing in several National Newspapers to sharing your stories in Magazines and of course the Military Awards ‘Milles’ in December 2014.

Although life can be quite mad sometimes, I feel privileged to run this charity and I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings.

 

I want to thank all of you personally from the bottom of my heart for supporting My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and Little Troopers over the last year and I can't wait to meet lots more of you very soon.  

 

I’ll sign off with one of my favourite messages from this year:

“Wow oh wow! To be apart of today and your amazing charity! I am overwhelmed by today my boys had such an amazing experience I cannot thank you enough for everything you do for our military children.”

 

Lots of love, Louise xxxx

Here's a few of my fav photos with Little Troopers I've met:

With a Little Trooper in Cottesmore

At Lapland UK with some Little Troopers

At the Millies with some Little Troopers who surprised me on stage!

 

We need your support now more than ever

The dust has settled a little after a very exciting week and I really wanted to blog in answer to a question I keep getting asked;

"Afghanistan is over now so all the soldiers are at home aren't they"

 

 

I really wish this was true, I wish with all my heart that this Christmas every family would have their soldier with them by the tree but that just isn't the case.

 

The British Army have many commitments and these are changing constantly in the UK and abroad and this takes soldiers away from the family home, ok so not all these commitments make the headlines and not all of them are combat zones but they do still mean elongated separation of a soldier and child, the added complication of this to a child is that it's over and over again constant separation of varying lengths.

 

Please don't think that because operations aren't in the news they aren't happening because they are, every single day of the year there are Little Troopers with a soldier parent away and it is so important today and every day we are here to support them and ensure they are connected and bonded with the soldier who's away.

 

How can you help?

 

We want to ensure we are ALWAYS here for British Army families and our dream is an Adventure Centre.

 

The Adventure Centre will be a focal point for families to make memories prior to a separation and to reconnect post a separation period. While soldiers are away we would offer weekends so families can meet others in a similar situation. The centre would provide various adventure activities, which would be varied throughout the year.

Being in an Army family is a unique experience, our Little Troopers have a lot to contend with.  We can’t stop the loneliness and fear children feel when their parent is away, but we can make them feel safe, secure and distracted so they don’t reach crisis point.

To achieve our centre we are launching a Fundraising campaign to raise £1million.  This would cover:

• Refurbishment of a building to accommodate 25 families with common areas and an administration building
• Catering areas - kitchen, dining
• Adventure equipment - climbing wall, high ropes course, equipment store
• An activity hall for indoor activities
• Resource area for day courses for families
• A project manager
• Transport

You can help us by signing up to our Fundraising Trek in April or clicking here to make a donation.

 

Help me make the dream happen for Little Troopers. Louise xxx

 

 

 

 

Me and My Soldier

Me and my Soldier is about celebrating special moments between soldiers and their Little Troopers.

Last year I took a photo of my soldier and our Little Trooper, it was such a tender moment I thought many others must have captured these moments in time too, the Me and my Soldier calendar 2013 was a great success I knew it had to run again for our 2014 calendar!

The charity has grown massively the last year and so has the number of people who know about us which equalled hundreds of entries which was so amazing but also meant we needed more months in the year! The images evoke so many feelings and emotions in everyone, military or civilian and I definitely cried some tears. It was so so hard judging and there was quite a few on the deciding panel but the results will be a totally adorable calendar everyone can have on their kitchen wall.

There was so many images we had some great ones for Christmas cards so this year we have Me and my Soldier cards to spread Christmas cheer!

Below I am sharing a few of the images chosen so you can see just how special they are!

Order your 2014 calendar here: 2014 Me and my Soldier Calendar

Order your Christmas Cards here: Me and my Soldier Christmas Cards

1st Place - Me and my Soldier Calendar

2nd Place - Me and my Soldier Calendar

3rd Place - Me and my Soldier

Christmas Card image

Christmas card image

2012...what a year!

WOW what a year 2012 was, we provided events across the country for over 1272, we had over 15,000 visits to our blog and met so many special Little Troopers.

The biggest thing for many is a community is growing, friendships are being forged and the support is very real and people can draw so much from being with others living a similar life.

Not rank dependant, not regiment dependant, not location dependant, not corps dependant just dependant on you being a British Army family and wanting to be part of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

Something really special is evolving and it has honestly been one of the most amazing years of my life and we cant wait for more of you to join our community and the adventures we go on with the Little Troopers!

Heres to 2013 but first....heres a reminder of an amazing 2012!!!!

Me and my Soldier

I witnessed a moment, a special moment between my soldier and my Little Trooper earlier in the summer;

It was such a spontaneous, heart felt moment I wanted to capture it without them knowing and preserve it forever.

Children of soldiers' face unique challenges on a daily basis but they are so very proud. I know my child holds her daddy in her heart, has a sad face when he leaves and beams when he arrives home, it truly melts me every time I witness their closeness.

We knew many other Little Troopers across the world would be capturing special moments with their soldiers and we knew these would be perfect to bring together in a calendar. An amazing way to celebrate British Army soldiers and their children!

'Me and my Soldier' was launched across the world in a quest to get as many special photos or drawings of Little Troopers and their soldiers sent into us at My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, the competition closes on 28th September 2012 when the 12 chosen entries will be announced. Prizes also to be won for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

The 2013 calenders will go straight into print and go on general sale mid October and can be pre ordered via our online shop: Pre Order 2013 Little Trooper Calendar here

With every entry that comes into competition@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org we shed a tear and we feel honoured you are sharing these precious moments with us, judging will be so hard but for now keep those entries coming in and know that this really will be a calendar like no other to cherish and we will all be privileged to see a glimpse into the amazing bond between a Little Trooper and their soldier.

Little Troopers....very special children

A Little Trooper is a child of a serving British Army soldier, doesn't matter how old they are they will always be a Little Trooper! Over the last year we have met lots and lots of Little Troopers, in fact we have run events for over 1,000 already since December 2011.
They are the reason My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures exists and they are the reason we have spent so many great days running various events across the country this year.

Children of soldiers' are special, they are resilient and strong but they also face unique challenges on a daily basis often being separated from a parent when they are sent away from the family home on duty for long periods of time.

After events Little Troopers come and thank us for running the event when really we should be thanking them, for being such joys to work with and such a rewarding group of children. They clearly get so much from being in the company of other British Army children where there is an unspoken understanding that all in the room 'get it' and they are, for that day, distracted from their current situation which maybe that they haven't spoken to Mummy or Daddy for a couple of weeks.

We were sent a letter recently a Little Trooper sent to his Mums workplace, we cried tears that the charity and events had obviously made and impact and we want to share his words:

My name is XXXXX and I am 12.  My mum works for XXXXXX and has done for a long time. 

I am writing to you for help in donating to My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures which is a charity that has helped me and my sister a lot and I want to help them back.  My dad is a soldier and is away a lot, he is away now and has been for 6 months.   My daddy is a soldier was set up by 2 army mums who organise fun days and weekends for military children whilst their mum or dad is away.  I have been on lots since my dad went away, I got to go to their xmas party in London and Harrods gave us a xmas present, I had football training with Chelsea Football Club and learnt to make pasta with Jamie Oliver but what means more to me is I got to meet and make new friends.

Making new friends is the most important to me as I can share how I feel because I know they are missing their dads too.  We help each other because I know when I am sad it makes my mum sad too and I know my mum really misses my dad when he is away.

My dad is going to Afghan at xmas and I really really hope we can raise lots of money for them so I can continue to meet lots of new friends.

Thank you for reading this letter and I hope you can help?

THANK YOU to all the Little Troopers for the smiles we witness, the laughs we see and the strong children you are and continue to be.

To close this blogpost we wanted to share the poem of the Military Child:

The official flower of the Military child is the Dandelion. Why?

The plant puts down roots almost anywhere, and it's almost impossible to destroy. It's an unpretentious plant, yet good looking.

It's a survivor in a broad range of climates.

Military children bloom everywhere the winds carry them. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military,...... planted swiftly and surely. They're ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends

.

Military children are well-rounded, culturally aware, tolerant, and extremely resilient. Military children have learned from an early age that home is where their hearts are, that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color, and that education doesn't only come from school. They live history.

They learn that to survive means to adapt, that the door that closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.  

FOR THE LITTLE TROOPERS AT HOME

Sometimes you need to look back, not just forward

We have been riding the My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures wave for over a year now......and what a wave it has been!

So often when creating something you constantly look to the future, the next thing, the goal you are striving towards for that week/month but sometimes you need to stop. and remember, look back and absorb your achievements to date.

On Friday we had My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures first Gala Dinner, it was a night of new faces and sharing our visions and dreams and the support was amazing. So heartfelt.

We put together a presentation for the evening and we realised we have achieved SO much and we have achieved it together and because we truly believe in British Army children being strong and special.

Seeing our achievements on a big screen was an emotional moment for us, our events have made a difference even if its to just one child and a community is being born which is what we wanted.

One British Army...we want One Community.

Achievements

- Events run in 2011 (Christmas Party & LapLand UK)

- Reaching £5,000 of donations

- Getting to the required level to register with The Charity Commission

- Launch of website http://www.mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org/

- Launch of Online Shop

- Partnering with many external shop suppliers (all army wives/partners)

- Developing the Little Troopers Treasure communications package

- Having an event booked in the diary every month right up until August 2012!

- MEETING SO MANY OF YOU!

The above are just a few there's so many others that are so important to us and I won't lie it has been stressful and tears have been shed but its so worth it. We have witnessed so many smiles from Little Troopers and received so many emails from you and we are on this journey all together.

So lets keep achieving and keep growing this community...For the Little Troopers at Home xxx

Little Troopers Treasures initiative

Today we are announcing the launch of Little Troopers Treasures, a new initiative that will enable soldiers to record audio stories and DVDs and even personal letters for their children to listen to or watch in their absence.

We are so excited about this and we are lucky enough to have met and collaborated with a fantastic recording team! The initiative looks set to grow as we have so many ideas! We aim to be travelling around various regiments and garrisons with units deploying soon to ensure this service is offered to as many families as possible!

Having that voice that is so special to listen to every night before bed or that familiar face to watch every day on DVD will ensure the bond of parent/child is kept whilst the soldier is away from the family home.

The My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures community is growing daily and we want our support to match the needs of the British Army families out there, this is something people have told us is needed so we have done our best to create something bespoke to offer.

So... if you have a soldier going away soon or you know someone that does let us know and we will endeavour to arrange a recording day in the area, this really will be a keepsake to have forever and something our Little Troopers at Home really will treasure....

Same Difference brings some POP to Aldershot!

4th February 2012 and Sean and Sarah from Same Difference bought their Pop Academy to Aldershot for children of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures. I'm not quite sure I've ever met nicer people, they were so accomodating and commited to running a days workshop for the children.

40 British Army children from Aldershot and surrounding areas came to the Pop Academy, Tesco donated the refreshments and Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre donated the workshop area, it was a fantastic day and great fun was had by all! Children sang, learnt dance routines and performance techniquies all taught personally by Same Difference.

I really wanted this post to be about was how far we have come, how many children we are managing to reach and the difference our events are now making. We always said if we put a smile on just one British Army childs face it would be an achievement and that we have definately achieved.

At the end of the Pop Academy the children put on a performance, I sat with tears in my eyes so proud of that group of children and so proud of the community we are creating.

I wanted to share the below comments we recieved:

"thank you for all your hard work with the pop academy, my 3 girls loved it so much..you do a great job so keep it up.xxxx"

"Thank you sooo much for such an amazing day yesterday x My little girl hasn't stopped talking about it x"

"many thanks again for a fab day, the boys had a great afternoon."

This particular quote captures it all and makes every second of our journey to date worthwhile:

"Fantastic day have not seen XXXXX that happy since his dad went away.. Thanks for arranging it you guys are doing something so truely wonderful, and we can't thank you enough"

To top if off we made front page news the week after!

So do continue to support My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, 2012 is a fundamental year for us and we need all the help and support we can get, the journey only continues if you join us on it!

Remember its For the Little Troopers at Home....

It's not a competition

I felt compelled to write this post, maybe brave, maybe stupid but none the less I think I will feel better afterwards and that's what a blog is for right? for sharing and gaining opinion.


Our journey with My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures has been up and down, some joyous moments and some tough moments but the common thread through all is our reason for doing this.

We never set out to start a charity it was never an ambition or want of ours, we decided to do it in reaction to something not being available when we needed it. It was an answer to a problem and there was/is nothing else out there specifically for British Army children especially when they have a parent away, if there was we wouldn't have done it we would have used that resource. We don't want to duplicate anything.


The third sector is a new experience for both of us, the military third sector is something we've never entered before and it is almost a current trend to enter it and 'jump on the bandwagon' and wow we have learnt some lessons.

Where we thought it would be a cosy, huggy, welcoming arena we were shocked when this hasn't been our experience. Where we thought people would rush to help us and advise we were wrong.

The people and organisations we thought would be supportive are not, they seem defensive and threatened. We've met with many of them to share our ideas and more often then not I have come out crying, crushed that people see our cause as a dilution of the military third sector.


So we steam on and our grit and determination and experience keeps us going regardless.


British Army children DO face unique challenges and they DO live a different life to other children and we are so passionate that we want this recognised and those children supported. All of them.


Its not a competition there is room for all of us, everything we have achieved has been through cheekiness, hard work, asking and a having a cause that people want to support. We aren't diluting, we are offering something that didn't exist before and we want to bring together everything that does exist to British Army families so there is no duplication and people know everything that is currently available.


So we continue, every time we don't get an email response from an organisation we would hope we would, every time we get a 'we can't support your cause' response from people who you think we absolutely should and every time we receive a 'but do Army children REALLY face anything different to civilian children' reply it makes us stronger and more determined.


Its not a competition and there is no winner.

Our year so far....

We really wanted to share this with you...I cry every time I watch it, this brings into a few minutes the last year for My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and it has been such a journey!

We can't wait to see lots of your faces in the video of the next year!!!

Thank you for supporting us. xxx

Christmas Party for 288 - MISSION COMPLETE

As you have read we formed in the summer of 2011 after our Snowdon trek in February 2011 the first event Linda and I really wanted to have was a huge Christmas Party, a special day where we as British Army families could get together, be a community, have some fun and celebrate what we belonged to...never did we dream it would be as amazing as it was!

Lots of hard work, late nights, emails and phone calls asking for help...and not a penny of funding and the results were fantastic!

The donations from companies and organisations blew us away and it would not have been possible with out them

288 people came together on 21st December 2011 at The Victory Services Club, all something to do with the British Army with 179 of those being children of soldiers' some had dads or mums away this Christmas some were lucky enough to have them at home this year but everyone was was wearing a smile.

Carol singers greeted everyone, Santa awaited, Major General Norton got the party started, dancing happened, crafts were completed, a tombola was sold out and faces were painted there was a buzz in the room like no other.

I remember taking 2 minutes and looking down at all the children having the best time all smiling and giggling and thinking this makes it all worth it, this is what we wanted to achieve!

This photo is why:

The day drew to a close Linda and I shed a fair few tears...of joy, happiness and tiredness I think! We had to pinch ourselves a little...WE DID IT! On our own and with no money, so many people though we were taking on too much, it wasn't possible...we proved them wrong!

The comments we have received since the event have been heartwarming and so appreciated so thank you all for those and thank you for coming and being a part of the day.

We have so many plans for 2012 and we welcome you on the ride into next year and more events with My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures for The Little Troopers at Home... xx

Do check out these links:

http://www.itv.com/london/troops-childrens-party39237

http://bfbs.com/news/england/christmas-party-army-kids-54089.html

LapLand UK 2011

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures were able to arrange with LapLand UK a free day for British Army children with a parent deployed this Christmas.

We sent 4 families who had a great day! They made the special journey to LapLand UK, helped the toy factory elves and also met all of Father Christmas's friends including the elves, reindeer, husky dogs and of course Mother Christmas who showed the children how to decorate gingerbread!

Finally and most importantly they got to meet the man himself at his snowy woodland home where he had a special gift for every child.

Everyone had a great day, one mummy says: "A very big thank you from us for the tickets for Lapland UK we had a great time, George loved it"

Thank you to LapLand UK and hopefully we will see you next year for more festive fun!

Going full circle...

I'm not from a particularly military background, my grandad was in the Navy but that's about it I think. I joined up through a complete if you can't beat them join them scenario and before I knew it I was being flown out to Germany to my first unit after a whirlwind of basic and trade training. There I stayed until 2006.

It was the best years of my life serving in the British Army, I loved it, I grew as a person, I learnt so much, I met so many life long friends, laughed so hard, earned a medal, had so many life changing experiences and of course I met my man! It honestly was THE best days of my life.

Various circumstances followed and I ended up leaving the forces and being a mummy. I went back to my old job in my old unit but as a civilian with better hours than I had when I was serving! I bobbed along in the Army bubble for a few more years.

It's a strange bubble, your post goes to the regiment not your house, my hoover belonged to the army, the magazines you were reading in Germany were a week out of date, we had to buy fuel coupons to get petrol, you worked and lived and socialised with the same people it honestly can be all consuming.

We got posted to UK and quite frankly I wanted to eradicate all Army from my life, I wanted to run away from it, for so long it had been my whole life, my job, social network, my everything.

We made a decision to buy a house, I went back to college, started a corporate job role, our little one started a predominantly non military school and we lived 40 minutes away from the barracks...I'd got what I wanted. A civilian life wholly and completely.

It was great...for a little while.

Then I realised that the community, the help of that community and the security blanket the Army had always given me had gone. I felt naked.

The last tour taught me many things and one very important lesson which has now lead to the creation of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, we all NEED each other, we all understand this strange army life and we can all be one community. That's what we want to achieve.

I've come full circle, right back to where I started...I've fallen in love again with this strange army life and I'm proud of what we represent. 'Im proud to have served and I'm proud to be an army family and lets all stick together.

Here's to creating a supportive, valuable community we can ALL rely on in this strange army life.

xxx

Makes it worthwhile....

The last couple of months have been overwhelming, tough, a huge learning curve and to be honest a little stressful.

This week we have received emails for the Christmas Party, requesting your children be added to the list, so many people are in situations where My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures will help and so many of the emails bring a tear to my eye. Why?
Emotionally I may bury the scars of deployment but; I know that feeling of being on your own, partner on tour and the desperation of 'I need to get out this house', do something with my child(ren) that's fun and uplifting, wear a smile and be with others that understand and where I don't have to explain my situation or why it might be hard right now. Be in a comfort zone.

Something huge that has come to our notice recently is that many of you, myself soon to be included, are married unaccompanied and that has its unique challenges too along with deployment and I want to support you guys.

So what makes it worthwhile?! YOU DO, knowing that we can all get together with our children this Christmas and celebrate our soldiers, this odd life we call 'Army Life' and be proud of our Little Troopers at home...

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures  Free Christmas Party is on 21st December 2011 12.30 - 4pm at The Victory Services Club in central London http://www.vsc.co.uk/ Santa, Entertainment, Food, Disco and much more! Email xmas@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org with the children attending and ages.

We can not wait to meet you all xxx

Why this? Why now?

There's quite a history to My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

I was a soldier and my partner still is a soldier, we have an 8 year daughter, we have encountered Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus UN tour, Canada and Afghanistan many a time before she was born and since, add onto that countless field exercises and I think we calculated in her 8 years her daddy has been away cumulatively 4+ years of her life.

When she was very young it really was a case of out of sight out of mind, they know no different and the onus is on you, the parent behind, to cope, get by and bring them up. I wont lie it was a very bumpy ride for us. I was still serving, we were living in Germany, Madison was a baby, chuck in a war starting, sprinkle in a few challenging situations and lets say it made me the strong independent woman I am today!!

October 2010; nothing could have prepared me for the 7 months ahead.

Fuel levels were already very low as we had endured a long pre deployment training package over the summer and a few courses so I'd already 'coped' alone for 3 or 4  months.
Our situation is very different now than before in that I have left the army and pursued a very different career but that is a full time commitment, our daughter is now at school which we all know brings with it lots of dates, assembly's etc etc and of course they want to do brownies, street dance, golf (?!) and all the rest so lets say I was juggling a fair few balls and spinning a couple of plates for good measure!

Tony deployed, I was broken. I always am for 2 weeks or so before I pick myself up and carry on, but it took longer this time. 

I remember being sat on a train going to a meeting in London on Remembrance Day, suddenly over the tannoy the driver announced there would be the 2 minutes silence. There on the train I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face, they wouldn't stop, I was biting my lip hard but they just wouldn't stop. Some lovely women on my table seat gave me tissues and when I told them my situation it was hugs all round, they were my saviours that day. I got off the train and trotted off to my meeting mascara smudged down my face. It hit me hard, this was real, this was our life, and it was raw emotion that I couldn't contain.

It was evident that Madison was struggling this time, she was older and you can't shelter children from the news, the radio, newsround, papers, people ringing and asking....this tour of duty I could tell was going to be like nothing we'd been through before.
Contact from Afghanistan was particularly awful , we'd go 10 days or so with nothing, no letters, calls, not a dickie bird and that in itself is stressful.

Madisons behaviours were subconscious to her, she wasn't aware they were a result of anxiety or worry as they were subtle changes; waking in the night, every night, twice a night! regressing to behaviours of a  very small child...not dressing, not wanting to do anything alone, asking where I was going even if I was just leaving the room!

I was exhausted, but then a call from the school, there had been an incident.
Madison had taken a stone into school, her daddy had bought it back from his last tour in Afghanistan, she showed it to the class. A child then raised her hand, I believe innocently and said ' Your daddy is going to die out there' (writing that I am now in tears) it was obviously a shocking thing and Madison was undoubtedly rocked by it, she had never contemplated this thought. I was sent a letter of apology from the childs mother and I tried to talk to Madison and explain the child hadn't thought through what she was saying.

I came home, I googled 'support for army child with dad in Afghanistan' the results were disappointing. There was some support from the regiment, booklets but nothing child specific, nothing to distract my daughter from the worry of her daddy being in a war zone, nothing to explain her recent behaviour changes, nothing purely because 'I am 7 and I'm sad because I can't see or speak to my daddy when I want' ........just nothing a google search page full of US Army initiatives we couldn't use.

I then decided to do something about it, the trek was born out of a letter Madison wrote (see a previous blog post) I absorbed myself in the trek of Snowdon with Madison which was a life changing chapter of my life and has evolved into My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

I know there are thousands of you that will relate and agree that support for army children is needed for all the reasons I have talked about and its needed now, we can't eliminate war or daddy's and mummy's being soldiers and going away but we can go some way to eliminate the loneliness and fear an army child can feel when that happens and give them a secondary community and other children who are going through the same. Make them feel safe, secure and distracted.

For the little Troopers at home....

is why.

We hope you join us on the My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures journey!

Lou xx

The objects of the Charity are to enhance the support already given to British Army children via various sources by the following, but not exclusively.

·         To undertake to promote and enhance the quality of life of those who have a serving parent away from the family home

·         To provide workshops and activities that offers a distraction to British Army children in a safe, secure and familier community environment

• To give the parent serving their country away from the family home the reassurance that their child(ren) have support
• To offer the parent in the family home the opportunity of a secondary community and support network

We see a time in the future when British Army Children will benefit from various nationwide workshops and activities covering many different interests, run by My Daddy is a Solider Adventures and appointed regional co-ordinators, in time these would spread worldwide to where the British Army serve.  Our Children will be able to have a positive experience with our events with children in a similar situation.  Our ultimate goal is to open a residential adventure centre available to all British Army Children with a parent away providing a retreat with planned activities, indoor and outdoor, offering respite in a community environment.