Did you know that April is the month of the Military Child? It was established in 1986 by former Defence Secretary Casper Weinberger in the US, it is still gaining momentum here in the UK. There are many military children who face challenging and unique experiences due to their parents/loved one's service, this month celebrates their important roles in our communities.
Purple Up! Day is on 26 April this year. It is a day to encourage the recognition of the role that the children play in our communities by wearing purple. Purple is chosen because it encompasses all the branches of the military.
To shed light on the Armed Forces Community within our Trust, we spoke with Sharon Deans, Armed Forces Accreditation Lead, Armed Forces Champion, and her youngest child Lliana. Sharon comes from a family with grandfathers, a father, husband, and son all part of the military. Her eldest child is a military wife and has two children, Sharon’s son is due to be a father later this year.
Sharon spoke about how families sit in the background and can be overlooked at times, therefore celebrating children who make sacrifices and overcome challenges is important.
Lliana, who is 12 shared that, ‘being a military child can be hard, as you have times where you have to leave your friends behind when you move on to a posting and sometimes you may not see them again. Seeing your parents go away is the worst bit.’
However, Lliana explained that sometimes ‘moving can be fun, as you have the opportunities to travel to new places, have more experiences and make new friends.’
Lliana has been lucky enough to join The Voices of Armed Forces Childrens Choir, originally seen on Britain’s Got Talent. A choir made up of 6–18-year-olds from tri-services families and established by ‘Never Such Innocence’ as part of their Armed Forces Children’s project. Lliana has made lots of new friends in a short space of time, coming together online and in person.
On 26 April, Lliana is excited to be performing at the Celebrating Forces Families Awards in London, an event that celebrates military families and their resilience, triumphs over adversity and inspiring career paths whilst being part of the military community.
Lliana is excited and nervous, as this will be her first live performance with the choir. Sharon shared that joining the choir has made a huge difference to Lliana. ‘Lliana has come out of her shell, grown in confidence and is like a completely different child to before she started the choir.’
Lliana is looking forward to seeing her friends again soon, both to record an album that will be released this year and to perform at the awards.
She is excited to be singing her favourite song, Dandelions. Sharon explained that the dandelion is the flower that symbolises the military child. Dandelions can take root and flourish almost anywhere the wind blows them; military children are uprooted and replanted when they move with their families.
As well as it being Lliana’s first time performing in front of a live audience, it will also be her first time performing alongside her mum. Sharon is a proud member and volunteer trustee for the Military Wives Choirs who are also performing on the night.
