News

Claire Dunbar is a mother of two, a primary school teacher, and now, an author. Her husband serves in the Royal Air Force and she has written two books for children who have a parent in the RAF. It has long been an ambition of mine to write a book. Last year, I wrote a small rhyming story about preparing to a start primary school. My daughter, Amber, will start school next year and I wanted to prepare her for the skills and things that would be helpful for her, but also share the things she didn’t need to worry [...]

In this blog English Leader at Carnagill Community Primary School, Sarah Bradshaw, writes about the transformative power of teachers reading aloud every day and how this has grown pupils’ love of reading and stories… It all started in Year 6. One particular year group were finding lunchtimes difficult. To calm them down, when they got into class, to stop the bickering and tears, the teacher at the time started to read to them. They were engaged from the moment she started to read. It was a moment of peace in a crazy day, time to breathe, slow down and listen [...]

Author Charlotte Goodwin joined the Reserves aged 18 and in this blog she explains how Army life runs through her fantasy books for adults.This month marks my twentieth year in the Army Reserves.  I joined aged eighteen and the Army has been an integral part of my life ever since.  Even though my civilian career has fluctuated, the Army remained the one constant and so I suppose it’s not surprising that when I decided I wanted to be an author, my experiences in the military would feature heavily.I’ve always enjoyed fantasy.  I love the escapism, the magic, and immersing myself in [...]

Read this blog to discover veteran Tony Brown’s life journey and his incredible creation of Forces Manor… Situated in the village of Kincraig, on the banks of the River Spey, five miles south of Aviemore in the beautiful Cairngorms National Park is Forces Manor. Built in 1880 as a highland retreat for an Edinburgh doctor, it has also been a shooting lodge and hotel. Army veteran Tony Brown is now in the process of transforming it into an impressive multi-purpose not-for-profit centre where tri-service serving personnel, veterans and their families can drop in, meet or stay for a short break [...]

In this blog our fabulous Book Club Ambassador, Nicola, gives the lowdown on her role supporting book clubs to get up and running… Thanks to a grant from the Veterans’ Foundation, we are continuing to support book clubs to get up and running in our military communities. Reading Force is a tri service charity, and we welcome Veterans, Reservists and MOD staff to our community. We offer book clubs for both children* (8yrs +) and adults – each book club member will receive three books for free to help get the book club going! “Thank you so much, [...]

‘My Forces Life’ Art Competition Winners! From the Under 4s to Adults’ entries, once again the Forces community have amazed us with their immense creativity and power of expression. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone – little and large! – who submitted their art, it has been a privilege to see your work. We would also like to thank our sponsors who made this competition possible: Bolt Burdon Kemp, Nosy Crow Children’s Books, and Daler Rowney. Finally, thanks to our esteemed judges who have chosen the winners with great care. Our panel of judges [...]

We’re thrilled to welcome Andrew Terry as our guest blogger. Andrew left the Navy in 2022 and set about writing and illustrating a children’s book about deployment and how as a deployed parent you’re always thinking about your children while away. The book has now sold over 1,000 copies! Here Andrew talks about creating the book…. Earlier this year, I wrote and illustrated a Children’s Picture Book, entitled Life in a Blue Suit. It has received support and praise from many naval charities and from senior echelons within the Royal Navy. I have dispatched [...]

We are thrilled Rhian Tracey’s mystery adventure set in Bletchley Park at the start of World War II, has just come out! In this very special guest blog, Rhian reveals her inspiration for the story, its characters, and the role of women and teenage girls in Bletchley… I first visited Bletchley Park when my daughter was in primary school. I was intrigued by the place because we’d recently found out that my great-aunt, Audrey, had been there during the war, although we initially knew little about the role she had played because [...]

Our junior book clubs are perfect for children aged 8 -11 years old and our senior clubs are suited to those aged 12-16/18yrs with a military connection including children of veterans and reservists. If you’re a military parent/carer, Welfare Officer, Service Community Champion, Community Development Officer, get in touch to find out more about our book clubs*. Our book clubs can be online or in your local community. Reading Force will support you from the very beginning, provide each member with three free books and ideas on how to continue your book club afterwards. Junior book club members will [...]

The Rock Retreat and Accord Literary are hosting workshops and running a young writers and illustrators competition and inviting Reading Force children and young people to take part! Accra in Ghana is UNESCO World Book Capital 2023 and to celebrate that Accord Literary and The Rock Retreat are creating an exciting global writing project and competition that will launch in Gibraltar next month. Young people in Bermuda, Ghana, Gibraltar & MOD families from across the globe will be taking part in this three day festival of writing and creativity. SIGN UP by 20th February - email ellie.dobbs@icloud.com to get a [...]