Phenomenal Royal Navy veteran and mum of two takes on 'difficult' hike for Little Troopers

Amy Cooper, 38, decided to take on the incredible 978 metre-tall mountain in a bid to raise money for Little Troopers following her experience as a veteran. The Portsmouth mum of two joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 and served for eight years. Amy left the forces back in 2008 but her husband, Ben, who she met while during her time in the military, continues to serve in the Royal Navy. 

Amy said: “I joined the Navy at 16 and served for about eight years and I met my husband there. He is still serving and he doesn’t work from home so we don’t see him during the week - like every military we just cope and get on with it and this charity does things to make military children feel special.

“My two are quite resilient but it is still hard for them sometimes - in the past, he has been away for six to eight months at a time on deployment - It is hard to keep up the morale - but we just have to get on with it because we don’t have a choice.”

Since leaving the forces, Amy became a teacher and she now works at HMS Collingwood where she develops education and training for the Royal Navy. She has first hand experience of how difficult it can be raising a family while her husband works away and it prompted her to take on this incredible challenge.

The hike took place on September 14 and she was joined by 30 people, all of whom were raising money for Little Troopers.

Little Troopers is a charity founded by British Army veteran, Louise Fetigan, in 2011. The charity is open to all children who have a parent serving in the British Armed Forces, of which there are estimated to be more than 100,000 children across the forces community. The charity organises a range of events and resources for children to get involved in, in a bid to support them while loved ones are serving in the forces.

Amy added: “Little Troopers provide days out and online resources, which I have also sent into school, really helps the girls feel special and realise their parent makes a difference.”

In total, Amy has raised £956 for the charity and she has been blown away by the support she has received from friends and family.

Amy said: “I really enjoyed it. It was difficult but fun - I am quite into my fitness anyway. I think I’m fairly fit but I have never hiked before but when I saw Little Troopers charity were going up I thought I could do something for military children because I have got two myself.

“It was really quite difficult because of the weather but I did enjoy it - there was about 30 of us all doing it for the charity and it was amazing.

“I am very close to £1,000 and it’s amazing. I didn’t even put a target and I thought that if I could get £100 that would be great - I work at HMS Collingwood so many of my friends have military children. A lot of people that I know are in the same position.”

To make a donation to Amy’s fundraiser, click here.

To find out more about Little Troopers, click here.