Latest News & Blogs
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Reflections on 10 years of Reading Force
19th July 2021 Life generally just rolls on. One often looks back week to week (‘This time, last week…’). Holidays and official festivals puncture time, seeming to last for ages and afterwards collapsing in on themselves. How [...]
Special guest author blog on The Cat Mafia!
9th July 2021 We’re thrilled to welcome author and naval mum, Liz McKittrick, as our guest blogger. Liz wrote Valiant Tails: The Cat Mafia, which is the very first book to kick off [...]
Extending our support to veterans in Northern Ireland
Reading Force is based on personal experience. As a family we found that shared-reading kept us in touch, both as a family and with our wider friends and connections, throughout our time in the [...]
World Book Day 2021!!!
Here at Reading Force we LOVE World Book Day and are very excited that despite these challenging days of lockdown and home schooling the day is still going ahead on Thursday 4th March! The [...]
We need to talk about the book…
We are delighted to announce the launch of a new Reading Force initiative – online book clubs for groups of Forces children and groups of adults and, we’re looking for volunteers to run [...]
Tales From Our Living Room: The Children’s Isolation Book Project
The Children’s Isolation Book Project is a wonderful example of a creative response to lockdown, and we’re very pleased to welcome Juliette Jones, who came up with the project, as our guest blogger. Below [...]
Guest blogger Donna David, author of Oh No Bobo!
20th October 2020 A big welcome to our guest blogger, author of Oh No Bobo!, Donna David. Here Donna talks about how she became a children’s author and how writing fits in so well with her [...]
Giving Forces children a voice through creativity and the arts
30th September 2020 In this blog Katie Salari, Director of Operations for Never Such Innocence, talks about the charity’s work to give military children and young people a platform to share their experiences and [...]
The Blakesley family return to Kuwait…
During lockdown the Blakesley family wrote blogs for us about being stranded in the UK, unable to return to Kuwait. In their final blogs, Nathaniel, Paul, and Karen share what it was like to [...]
Ever have battling thoughts over what your family ought to be reading?
In this blog Reading Force founder Professor Alison Baverstock talks about why reading and sharing ANY book is what matters… Which book should we choose to share? We are often asked by [...]
Lockdown Librarian
Our resident blogger Emma O’Brien reflects on the similarities between lockdown and military family life, AND shares the best books to escape with, books for a good cry and a good laugh, and comfort [...]
Brave New World
Ahead of a seminar on the lives and experiences of Forces partners, taking place on 8th July, Alison Baverstock, Reading Force founder and military wife for 30 years reflects on lockdown and deploymets. Talking to a [...]
‘I’ve always enjoyed both reading and being read to.’
In Part 3 of the Blakesley family lockdown blogs, Nathaniel (12) shares his thoughts on reading, boarding school, and Sherlock Holmes during lockdown… I’ve always enjoyed both reading and being read to. I remember having [...]
Lockdown Life
In Part 2 of the Blakesley lockdown blogs, Karen takes the pen from Paul and recalls arriving in the UK, moving to the Services Cotswold Centre, how reading habits change with life events, and her [...]
Word of command?
Alison and Corporal Andrew Miller, The London Regiment – G Company Last week journalist Marina Hyde highlighted the increasing use of a military vocabulary for the COVID-19 crisis. She was right. Journalists and [...]
Alison’s epic adventure to the Arctic to raise money for Reading Force
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 [...]
Just to let you know we’re still open for business…
The Scott siblings opening Reading Force post I’ve had a familiar feeling in my stomach for the last week or so, as we prepare for the arrival of something we [...]
Military Wives
Have you seen Military Wives yet? Founder and director of Reading Force, Alison Baverstock, gives her thoughts on the film here, what the makers got wrong, and what they got so right… Military Wives [...]
An epic adventure to the Arctic Circle
Alison Allmand-Smith is about to embark on an epic adventure to the Arctic Circle to fundraise for Reading Force – WOW! We’d like to say a very BIG thank you to Alison! In this blog [...]
The Brightstorm twins are back for more adventure on the sky-ship Aurora…
We’re thrilled Vashti Hardy, the author of Brightstorm and Wildspark – both nominated for the Blue Peter Book Award! – has written our latest guest blog to mark a very exciting day… Darkwhispers, the sequel [...]
Booking the chance to say thank you
Running a charity, and ensuring there is enough money to keep going, is much harder than it looks. Charities rely on donations. Company budgets and funds that give charitable grants are increasingly under pressure. [...]
Top tips for military life
Julie Boyle’s husband is leaving the Army this year, having served for 22 years. Here, as our guest blogger, Julie looks back on life as a military wife and mother, reflects and shares her top [...]
Planning for Christmas… with a loved one away
Founder of Reading Force, Alison Baverstock, was an Army wife for 30 years and experienced many Christmases separated from her husband. Here she shares her top tips for managing Christmas with a loved one away [...]