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Little troopers are to be part of Children and Military Lives Exhibition at Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum

We are so excited to announce that Little Troopers has worked with the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum on a new Children and Military Lives Exhibition – Stories of Adventure, Family, and Exile. The exhibition, which explores the experience of children of serving military personnel and also children who have been affected by conflict, historically and contemporarily, opens on 2nd June and will run until 24th November.

The Children and Military Lives Exhibit will give visitors the opportunity to discover the stories and experiences of military children who have grown-up in the Armed Forces community. It will explore how they cope with having their parents deployed overseas to different parts of the world. Look at how they move house and school regularly and have to build friendships for what can be short periods of time. The exhibition will also give visitors the chance to read and listen to children’s own reflections on what it’s like to have military parents as these young people start to consider their own adult lives.

Louise, founder of our charity, comments: “There are more than 100,000 children today who have parents serving in the British Armed Forces. It’s really important that they are represented and given the opportunity to tell their story and share their unique experiences. Military life is full of challenge, change and adventure and this exhibit offers visitors a special insight into our Armed Forces community as seen through the eyes of military children.”

The Museum has collected accounts from children of the 1950s to 2000s, whose parents were part of the British forces. Frequently these children experienced traveling across the globe following in their father’s footsteps; often giving them unique life experiences they never forgot.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum has also partnered with Brian McCarty’s War Toys, a unique photo series which vividly brings to life the effects of war on children living in conflict zones around the world. Acting as their own art directors, children often living in refugee camps are given the opportunity to depict real scenes from their experiences using toys and the local terrain. The resulting images are impactful and thought provoking; giving us an insight into a world which is far removed from our experiences of watching news programmes covering the camps in war zones.

With a focus on Oxfordshire people, visitors can see and hear what living through conflict is like first hand. There will be recordings of evacuation memories to present day accounts from children who arrive in the county and experience a new culture here.

Finally, the exhibition will not only run throughout both Armed Forces Day and Refugee Week, but also the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. To mark the Jubilee, they will highlight the Queen’s own ‘military childhood’ and her Second World War service in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) with a timeline of the nation’s toys and books. They have gathered toys from the 1940s to the present day as we take a look at our enduring relationship with toys that depict war, from tin soldiers of yesterday to remote control drones of today.

Little Troopers can get free admission to the exhibition with a parent showing a valid MOD90. To find out more about the museum please click here.

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6 Mar 2020 - Harry (2), pictured in the Little Troopers 2020 calendar waving goodbye to his Dad's ship in Portsmouth harbour

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