Royal Navy family’s pride as five-year-old ‘superstar’ military child from Gosport wins Little Troopers award for resilience after a year of upheaval

Military child Adam Newman, whose dad Michael serves in the Royal Navy, was presented with the award by national children’s charity Little Troopers.

Adam Newman has been awarded ‘Little Trooper of the Month’ following a hectic 12 months. In March 2021, Adam and his family moved back to the UK from Gibraltar where they lived for just nine months.

In August Adam became a big brother for the first time, welcoming baby Peter.

Then in November, Adam’s dad was deployed overseas - his second tour in two years - which meant he was away from home for Christmas for the second year in a row and is not due home until April.

Despite only being five years old, Adam has been to three different schools or nurseries and lived in three different homes.

Mum Lauren nominated Adam for the ‘Little Trooper of the Month’ award for coping so well with the upheaval that military life can bring.

She said: ‘Adam has had so much change this year, from moving home and country to changing schools, making new friends, having a new baby brother to his dad deploying again.

‘But throughout everything he has shown nothing but kindness and care to everyone around him.

‘He’s been really helpful around the house while his dad has been away and he loves making his school friends laugh and cheering up anyone who is having a down day.

‘We are very proud of him. He’s an absolute superstar and it’s wonderful that his resilience has been recognised by Little Troopers.’

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Adam has received a Little Troopers medal, certificate, and a £50 voucher.

Louise Fetigan, Little Troopers founder, said: ‘Adam’s story demonstrates just how challenging Armed Forces life can be for our military children.

‘While moving house and living abroad can be a great adventure, it can also be hard when all of these things happen at the same time, especially when a parent is also deployed overseas for months at a time.

‘Little Troopers is a charity committed to supporting children like Adam and helping them realise that they are very special little troopers who deserve to be recognised for their unique experiences.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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