Latest News & Blogs
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My Daddy’s in the RAF / My Mummy’s in the RAF
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 [...]
Reading Spine
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… [...]
A life in the Army Reserves and a magical planet
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 [...]
“The Army gave me a home, now it’s my turn to give the Army a home.”
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 [...]
Happiness is … Reading Force Book Clubs
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 [...]
‘My Forces Life’ Art Competition Winners!
‘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 [...]
LIFE IN A BLUE SUIT
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 [...]
I, SPY: A Bletchley Park Mystery
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 [...]
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR AMAZING NEW TITLES FOR OUR JUNIOR AND SENIOR BOOK CLUBS?
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. [...]
The Rock Retreat Young Writers Competition 2023
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 [...]
Charity Spotlight – Fighting With Pride
In this blog our Ambassador in Scotland, Fiona Maxwell, highlights the fantastic work of the charity Fighting With Pride… Fighting With Pride Prior to January 2000, there was a ban on LGBT+ personnel serving [...]
It’s not too late to make a New Year’s Resolution…
Join a Reading Force book club and read more amazing books, for free! Check out our THREE AMAZING new titles for our adult book clubs! New volunteer coordinators can choose from: Capital by John Lanchester, [...]
Fazoom! The creation of a superhero…
We’re thrilled to welcome Mairi Holden as our guest blogger. Mairi is Oscar Holden’s mum - you’ll remember that 11-year-old Oscar recently published his first fantastic book about his character Fazoom. Here, Mairi recalls [...]
Christmas in the military
In this blog Reading force founder Alison Baverstock reflects on Christmas in the military and eclectic Christmas tree decorations! I don’t come from a military family. As a child, listening to ‘Two-way family [...]
Autumn news from our Book Club Ambassador Nicola…
Hi everyone, What a fantastic summer! We teamed up with Connected Forces to create an online book club for 16–19-year-old UK Armed Forces students across the UK and provided three free books to each [...]
The Story of Britain’s Black Airmen
We’re thrilled to welcome K.N. Chimbiri as our guest blogger for Black History Month. In this blog Kandace talks about her writing life and where the idea came from for her newly released book, [...]
Reading Force Ambassador in Scotland
In this blog our Ambassador in Scotland, Fiona Maxwell (aka The Book Lady!), shares the highlights of her Reading Force life… Hi everyone, I’m Fiona Maxwell and I have had a wonderful time working [...]
Senior Book Clubs
Calling all secondary school Service Children’s Champions and Coordinators, Welfare Officers, and Community Development Officers... Have you seen our amazing new titles for senior book clubs? Our senior book clubs are perfect for teens [...]
What’s new for Summer ‘22?
Hi everyone, I’m Nicola Hill and I am delighted to have been warmly welcomed into the Reading Force team as Book Club Ambassador. Another story please Mrs Hill … As an Early Years [...]
A heart-warming book about IVF for children and adults
We are very pleased to introduce our guest blogger, Stacey Morgan. Here Stacey generously shares her IVF journey and how she came to write her beautiful book, I knew I’d find you. My [...]
Three reasons why you should enter the Reading Force Writing Competition
Alison Baverstock is a military wife and mum, the founder of Reading Force, and the author of 18 books. In this blog Alison shares her thoughts on why you should enter the Reading Force [...]
Day Sixteen – Crask Inn to John o’Groats (82 Miles) and mission completed!
1st September 2021 Day Sixteen – Crask Inn to John o’Groats (82 Miles) and mission completed! The final instalment of Alison’s stories of being the back-up and support for the intrepid cyclists, [...]
Days 14 and 15 across the Scottish Highlands from Glencoe to The Crask Inn
31st August 2021 Follow Alison’s stories of what it’s like to be the back-up and support here, as she reports back with a daily MAMILgram (that’s Middle-Aged-Men-In-Lycra): Day Fifteen – the penultimate day, from [...]
Days 12 and 13 from Loch Lomond into The Highlands, and some equipment tips
27th August 2021 Days 12 and 13 from Loch Lomond into The Highlands, and some equipment tips Follow Alison’s stories of what it’s like to be the back-up and support here, as she [...]