Supporters

We’re delighted to welcome our brilliant new team member, Jen Robinson. In this Q&A Jen talks about her love of books and how they’ve kept her “company and connected”. Can you share something about when you first heard of RF? When I first heard of Reading Force (and as a self-confessed bookworm) I was instantly drawn to the idea of a shared connection through books. It reminded me of catch-ups with friends and family, when the conversation inevitably moves to our latest favourite reads. And like so many members of the armed forces family, during my RAF [...]

We’re delighted to introduce Elise Norris, the creator of Dande-Lion books. Here she tells us why she wanted to publish personalised books for tri-service military children… Can you tell us what led you to create the Dande-Lion Diary books? I created our first personalised deployment book for our son, Alfie, in 2022. His dad was about to be deployed over his second birthday on a three-month exercise, and I wanted to ensure Alfie could understand where his dad was and feel reassured about his return. My professional background includes a decade of supporting children and [...]

Tom has worked with Reading Force for over ten years and we’re really happy that he is also a patron of Reading Force. He has written children’s books set in the British Army (Over the Line), Royal Navy (Arctic Star) and Royal Air Force (Spitfire). Tom’s series Rugby Academy is about a school where most of the characters are service children. He works with Forces families to get the facts right. For over ten years you’ve been a wonderful advocate for Reading Force, and now we’re lucky to have you as [...]

We would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who entered our Memoir Writing Competition. We were awestruck by your entries, the experiences and lives you’ve lived, enjoyed, survived, and captured in words. Thank you for trusting us with your stories and chapters. It has been very difficult to choose a winner, so much so, that the judges have chosen TWO winners! We are thrilled to announce that Catherine Williams and Julian Allen have won, and their memoirs will be published by Pen & Sword books – congratulations to both! Catherine’s book is about her [...]

"Separation is a fact of life for many military families, but stories and books offer a shared experience, no matter how far away loved ones might be. That's why I'm proud to support Reading Force." An opportunity to hear Clive Myrie’s story, ask questions, and read his acclaimed autobiography Everything is Everything. Wednesday 18th March 6:00-8:00pm £40.00 per ticket – includes a copy of Clive’s autobiography, Everything is Everything, and a drink on arrival. Victory Services Club, 63-79 Seymour Street, London W2 2HF THIS EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE This unique event offers the opportunity [...]

Elizabeth, Lady Kitson is the founder of the Federation of Army Wives. We were delighted to receive this from her – commenting on the value of Reading Force I would like to congratulate Reading Force for its excellence and achievement – it’s a wonderful concept. I have been an Army daughter and an Army wife, and I know how important communications are when families are separated by deployments and constant moves. In the war, my mother and I were thrilled whenever we got a letter from my father. We always wrote and told him everything we [...]

Alison Allmand-Smith has returned from her epic adventure to the Arctic to raise £3,000 for Reading Force! She says it was an amazing expedition - and very challenging!  Here she shares photos of her week adventuring in the Arctic. You can donate to Alison’s Reading Force fund via this link. Alison funded the trip herself, and every penny donated goes directly to Reading Force to send books and scrapbooks to families.  Thank you Alison and well done! Alison's journey... Firstly I would like to say a huge and extremely heartfelt thanks to my husband Oliver and family and the fantastic teams [...]

Many thanks for supporting Neil, our Ride London 100 cyclist!  He made it with flying colours!! We’d like to thank everyone who supported our Reading Force cyclist in August’s gruelling Prudential Ride London 100 miles! And of course we’d like to congratulate and thank Neil Baverstock himself for his amazing achievement. Neil setting off at 0530hrs for his epic ride Neil prepared for this epic cycle ride with significant training in all weathers which paid off on the day. It was a challenging ride made especially difficult by being one of the hottest days of the summer. He completed [...]

We’re thrilled that our founder and Director, Dr Alison Baverstock, has been awarded a Points of Light Award to coincide with Armed Forces Week for her commitment to Forces families. Points of Light are outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. The Points of Light award acknowledges volunteers who make a difference in society. The awards are administered by the Prime Minister’s office, in collaboration with the Department for Culture Media and Sport. Every week day the Prime Minister recognises an inspirational volunteer with the Daily Point of Light award. On receiving this Points of Light [...]