News

In response to world events there’s been increasing discussion about putting ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine. Reaction from the military community will likely be varied: trying to anticipate who will be going; wondering when and what will be the impact on your own family; anxiously watching the debate develop in the media. In the process, difficulties in both recruitment and retention into the UK’s Armed Forces are being highlighted, and questions asked about how big our military needs to be. A recent Radio 4 investigation muddled the two and missed an opportunity to consider issues of [...]

Forces Children Scotland are delighted to share new tailored digital support to help children and young people overcome unique deployment challenges. Find out more in this blog… Deployment can sometimes bring feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and isolation. Consultations with children and young people from armed forces families, led by Forces Children Scotland, evidenced a need for a child-friendly resource with easily accessible information. Judith Blair, Learning and Development worker for Forces Children Scotland had this to say about the creation of the new resource: “Funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and BFBS Big Salute has [...]

In this special guest blog, Rhian reveals her close to home inspiration for the story… My great-aunt Audrey revealed her career as a code-breaker one Sunday lunchtime, in a pub in Wales, when a family member made an incorrect statement about Bletchley Park. Before this, if asked about her war work, Audrey would have replied, just as she’d been trained to do, “Admin. Nothing exciting.” When Audrey was queried about her seemingly impossible knowledge about somewhere in England (of all places!) called Bletchley Park, she stood up and announced to her family, and the whole pub, that she [...]

Hosted Saturday 8th February 2025, by Alison Baverstock I guess you know a conference programme is working well when the speakers arrive early, reference each other in their own presentations, and then stay on to join in. This lovely email came afterwards from one of them. ‘I enjoyed the whole day. What you are doing is really worthwhile. A good deal of it was relevant to some of the things I want to do. The bits that weren’t were just plain interesting.’ I have long taught in a university, and we teach students to ‘deconstruct’. In other words, [...]

In a bid to foster community and connection, Reading Force is partnering with veteran organisations across the country to launch book clubs, forging new friendships through the shared love of reading. One such organisation, Veterans Outreach Support (VOS) in Portsmouth, has embraced this initiative with open arms. A New Chapter for VOS The VOS book club, part of the charity’s comprehensive wellbeing programme, kicked off late last year with their first three reads provided by Reading Force. We had the pleasure of speaking with Alison, a member who found the courage to [...]

We were thrilled to partner up with the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) in their marvellous mission to deliver 52 special Christmas parcels to families with a loved one in the Submarine Service. Find out more about the project here… Christmas can be a challenging time for families with loved ones deployed in the Submarine Service, especially for young children who miss their parents during the festive season. To bring joy and comfort, the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC), in collaboration with The [...]

Have you started to write a memoir about your military life? Or have you thought about writing a memoir? If so, this day is for you! In this blog author and Reading Force founder talks about the benefits of writing a memoir whether you’re serving, veteran, or a family member. Writing a book is apparently the second most common new year’s resolution. But that does not mean you have to create a bestseller, or share publicly material that still feels raw. We think it’s important to separate [...]

Laura joined Reading Force in early 2023 and is already well known in Northern Ireland for getting the community reading together! She is regularly out and about at events and meeting veterans and families. Here she talks about her day-to-day Reading Force life and reflects on her years of experience in a Forces family. Can you tell us a little bit about your Ambassador role? I am the Reading Force Ambassador for Northern Ireland. I began my role with Reading Force in April 2023 while I was still living in [...]

When the founder of Reading Force, Alison Baverstock, visited Cyprus in the summer of 2023 she gave several talks at the Akrotiri Hive. In the audience was Sarah, who pricked up her ears when Alison mentioned that in addition to family shared-reading with scrapbooks, Reading Force also support the setting up of book clubs. These aim to connect people from a Forces background, particularly when they are wanting to make new friends. A keen reader, and newly arrived from Blandford with her husband and 18-month-old son, Sarah thought for ages about [...]

Nicola has been our Book Club Ambassador since April 2022. Her role has since expanded to include sending our teen journals, scrapbooks and books to Reading Force families around the world. Nicola also sends certificates with a new book and scrapbook to any families who use our FREEPOST service to return their scrapbook and a new teen journal/book to those who send in their book review sheet. Here she talks about her role and a great recent read! Can you tell us a little bit about your Ambassador role? Our book [...]