Through Our Eyes: Charity Aims To Inspire Military Children With 2021 Calendar

Stories and photos of military children are at the heart of charity Little Troopers’ 2021 calendar.

Newly released, it also contains inspirational messages from celebrities, who have either served in the Armed Forces, or have grown up as a military child.

These include former Royal Marines Commando Mark Ormrod MBE, Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes, Radio 1 DJ Jordan North, actress Joanna Lumley, and Andy McNab. 

The calendar is part of the charity’s ‘Through Our Eyes’ campaign, which aims to capture unique adventures and challenges experienced by Armed Forces children over the past 18 months.

It is the result of a photo competition, for which the entrants had to write the stories behind the images.

Little Troopers provides entertainment and welfare support for children whose parents spend time away on deployment. But this year treats such as an annual visit to see Santa in Lapland are on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the children featured in this year’s calendar are sisters Lily-May, three, and two-year-old Lexi in an emotional reunion with their RAF mum Gemma, after a three-month deployment.

Gemma said: "There was nothing better than the feeling of coming home and the girls running through the airport and screaming my name and running to me.

"They've had a lot of ups and downs in their life, but no matter what gets thrown at them, they just get on with it and they just deal with it."

Five-year-old Cameron was pictured sitting on his doorstep feeling uncertain and concerned about the future after his mother’s military posting and their house move was called off due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Four-year-old Peter got into the calendar after helping his dad, an Army lawyer, pack for an upcoming three-month deployment.

Army spouse Lottie said: "Daddy was doing that horrible bit before they go away when they have to pack up all their stuff to go, and he decided he was going to do it in the garage so we didn't have to see it.

"Anyway, Peter went out to join him and just started dressing up in his clothes so Daddy took a nice picture."

Little Troopers founder Louse Fetigan said: "What we realised as a charity was lots of people have been military children themselves, have been part of the military, and they had a real message of positivity for all the little troopers out there."