"We want to celebrate military children": Fabulous fun run day delights military families in Portsmouth

Excitement filled a Royal Navy sports complex this weekend as children flocked to compete in family fun runs.

Families with armed forces roots descended on HMS Temeraire today (April 12) for a while host of fun and entertainment. The highlights were the hotly contested races, which included the 3K dash dandelion dash.

Little Troopers, a military children’s charity, organised the festivities to spread the word about April being the month of the military child. Founder Louise Fetigan MBE was was ecstatic to organise the organisation’s third annual celebration event.

She told The News: “We’re so excited to be in Portsmouth and we had so many military families here with our fun run. The month of the military child is an international celebration month which recognises the impact that children have on the British armed forces community.

“We have lots going on all year round, but in April, we shout a little bit louder about how amazing military children really are. It’s a special month. It’s great to start conversations about what are the unique challenges that military children face, and why they should be supported.”

Prizes were handed out to the winning runners. Other attractions included an inflatable dart board, mini golf course, dancing competitions, live music from the Horndean band, circus acts, face-painting, balloon modelling, and lots more. Royal Navy sea cadets were on hand to make sure everything went smoothly.

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Little Troopers supports kids who have parents in the regulars and reserves. Ms Fetigan said: “We make sure we have programmes and initiatives to support them in school and at home. We want to include, recognise, and celebrate military children.

“They often experience long separation from their parents working overseas on deployments. Long repeated separation from a parent can be very difficult. Moving home and school frequently can also be challenging and impact friendships. It’s the lack of continuity and consistent change that can be really difficult for military children.

“Little Troopers really does give that sense of belonging to so many military children. Even though everything around them is changing all the time, the charity brings that sense of continuity to them. We want every military child to know how special they are.”

More details can be found on the Little Troopers website. Copies of any images from The News can be purchased by calling 0330 403 0033 or by emailing [email protected].