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Month of the Military Child

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April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, which highlights the important role Service children play in the Armed Forces community. It is a time to applaud Armed Forces families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome.

 

 

Why purple?

Purple was chosen because it symbolizes all branches of the military, a combination of Army Green, Air Force Blue, Coast Guard Blue, Marine Red and Navy Blue.

SSCE Cymru would like to encourage education settings to carry out activities during this month to celebrate and raise awareness of the unique experiences this group of children and young people have and become a more Armed Forces-friendly environment.

Resources:

Ideas of how schools can get involved

Ideas of how Service families can get involved

Month of the Military Child banner

Month of the Military Child square image

Dandelion poem

Events:

See the SSCE Cymru events page for details of events taking place in April, as part of Month of the Military Child. 

Month of the Military Child 2023 activities

 

School and Local Authority activities

Schools and Local Authorities across Wales organised several activities during the month of April to celebrate their Service children and applaud them for the daily sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome. Activities included fun Forces Festival events delivered in collaboration with Forces Fitness, getting creative with arts and crafts sessions, WRU wheelchair rugby sessions, school assemblies, bake sales to raise money for Armed Forces Charities and lots of discussions around what it means and how it feels to be a Service child.

 

Purple Up Day! 

Friday 28th of April 2023 was ‘Purple up' for Month of the Military Child day. The SSCE Cymru team, schools, Local Authorities and members of the network all got involved by wearing purple, lighting up buildings and holding ‘all things purple’ activities.

 

A visit from the Armed Forces Champion - Mount Street Infants School

Cllr Matthew Dorrance, the Armed Forces Champion in Powys, visited the Little Troopers at Mount Street Infants School in Brecon during Month of the Military Child. The Little Troopers shared their experiences and what it means to be a Service Child with Cllr. Dorrance and learnt about his role as the Armed Forces Champion.

 

 

Service Children Quotes

Throughout April the SSCE Cymru team shared daily quotes from Service children that give us an insight into their experiences of being part of a Service family.

 

Month of the Military Child 2022 activities

 

Adventures of a Service Family art exhibition and workshops

A collaborative project between SSCE Cymru, Pembrokeshire County Council and the VC Gallery created an opportunity for 56 Service children from six schools to participate in a two hour art workshop during in the lead up to Month of the Military child. The dandelion themed artwork form the Service children, and large collaborative piece of art, will be displayed in the VC Gallery on 7th April 5-7pm.

 

Army Welfare Service Brecon - Dandelion poem

 

Haverfordwest High School - Experiences of Service children

Llanbedr CiW School, Powys - Month of the Military Child activity

Read more
See more case studies here

Service children’s quotes

"As soon as we get used to a house, you get moved - I’ve been to four schools and moved six times."

Aiden

"I lived in Nepal, then we went to Brunei, then Malaysia."

Ashim

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Chloe

"I’m used to moving now and mixing with the children... I’ve done it so many times, it’s just a normal thing now."

Chloe

"It's ok talking over skype and that, but sometimes you just want a hug when Dad is away."

Georgia

"I’ve enjoyed going around to lots of places around the world, it's adventurous and exciting."

Harry

"In my eyes, you have hundreds of friends in different places."

Ieuan

"My mum got a chalk board and it says how many sleeps on it with chalk, every minute it’s getting closer for him coming home."

Mia

"I don’t want him to get promoted... I want him to get promoted but I don’t want to leave."

Oliver

"I might be going to boarding school so that I don’t change schools every few years."

Ryan

"I've been to seven different schools; I’ve not stayed put in one school long enough."

Shana

"He has been away for six months and he is back for two weeks, then he goes away again."

Sianed

"My parents were in the Army. My mum is a like a nurse and my dad went to the war in Afghanistan. I actually didn’t really know what he was doing so I was like, ‘Cool Dad, go there,’ but then I found out and thought, 'Thank God he came back alive.'"

Sanjog

"He signed off last week, so he will be done by the end of this year. He’s done 24 years. I find that better because he will be around a lot. He likes watching us playing rugby, so he will get to see us more."

Lewis

"I’m going to a new place entirely. They don’t know anything about me and that’s a big restart and that’s really good for me."

Piaras

"I moved to Wales because my dad was posted in the Army. I thought I would get bullied and I was shy when you meet new people, but I made some friends."

Dan