Have you heard of Reading Force?
Reading Force is the shared-reading charity for the whole Armed Forces family, including veterans! We welcome veteran families to take part, whether you’re making the transition to civilian life, have been a veteran for decades, you’re new to Reading Force, or took part when serving, we are here to support you.
We give free special resources (scrapbooks, teen journals, adult reading journals) and books to families with children up to and including age 18. Reading the same book, chatting about it, and making a scrapbook or filling a journal is a fun activity which can involve the whole family. Our participating families tell us it supports wellbeing, helps improve communication, and can increase personal confidence.
Veterans can take part in Reading Force in any way that suits them – with your children or grandchildren, and with loved ones living in another part of the country or overseas. Chatting about the books can take place in person, over FaceTime, in emails – you can do whatever appeals to your family and whatever works.
Lucy Fryer, Reading Force Ambassador for veterans, is herself the wife of a Royal Navy veteran and draws on her lived experience when supporting families to get involved:
“Having recently transitioned to being a civilian family ourselves, I know first-hand what an unsettling time it can be for everyone – as the saying goes ‘one person joins, but the whole family serves.’ Many of those leaving service life do so with children still in education, and Reading Force is a perfect way to keep those conversations going within the family unit when you’re going through a period of change.
Equally, I meet many veterans who are excited to sign up to Reading Force with their grandchildren. There can be feelings of having missed out on their own children growing up and it’s important to them to make the most of time spent with grandchildren. It’s special to feel that we are a part of that. And knowing that our books are great quality is something I’m so proud of – when that parcel drops on the doormat, I hope our military children can sense that we’ve thought about them and recognise their service too.”
Lots of families tell us it’s hard for their children when activities that were offered to them while they were a serving family stop when service ends. No longer having access to clubs and offerings that connected children and young people within the military community and functioned as supportive, are suddenly withdrawn. This is abrupt and confusing when being a military child is part of your identity. At Reading Force, we believe once a military child, always a military child, and getting involved is a positive way to affirm your identity and the deep pride often felt about a parent or carer’s service.
What are the benefits of taking part?
Having common ground to chat about is fun and bonding. It can also pave the way for other conversations. Over the years we have heard from families who say they started talking about the book, and soon moved on to talking about other things, sometimes things that had been avoided or that were tricky to talk about. This can come about because a child can relate to the characters in the book being read, or simply because having started talking about the book, it becomes easier to move on to chatting about other topics.
Reading confidence can also increase, as this is a relaxed way to share books and stories and have fun with them. It’s not schoolwork! And it’s not just about the kids. Often parents and carers tell us doing Reading Force and sharing books with their family increased their own reading confidence, as they hadn’t read much before, and that it was special to now be able to enjoy books as a family.
A sense of belonging
“We’re a blended family with four children—two boys aged 12 and 8, and two girls aged 10 and 8,” he says. “Being part of Reading Force gives our children a sense of belonging and inclusion. It’s more than just receiving books—it’s about feeling recognised and connected as part of a wider military family. That sense of community means a lot to all of us.”
He admits that reading didn’t come naturally to him as a child: “I used to read the blurb on the back of the book and then try to brief my mum on what I thought the book was about!” But becoming a parent has given him a new appreciation for shared reading. “Now, we often read together or talk about the books as a family. It’s sparked conversations, debates, and laughter—and that shared time has become something we all look forward to. It’s like having our own little book club!”
Supporting dyslexic readers
The charity’s inclusive ethos has also made a real difference to their eldest son. “The eldest has dyslexia and has always struggled with reading. I’m genuinely thankful that we signed up to Reading Force because it’s had such a positive impact. The inclusive nature of the charity has helped him build confidence with reading. He was sent a book which was perfectly suited to his reading-age and he actually enjoyed it—something we never thought possible.”
As a veteran, he’s also appreciated how Reading Force has recognised his children as military children and made them feel valued.
“They were thrilled to receive something through the post! The quality of the books and the joy of filling in their scrapbooks—it’s all been a hugely positive experience.”
He sees Reading Force as more than just a reading charity: “It recognises the unique dynamics of military families and creates a simple yet powerful way to bring people together. It’s such a smart and heartfelt initiative.”
Jamie’s message to other families who might be thinking about signing up to Reading Force? “Don’t hesitate. There’s huge value in what Reading Force offers, not just in terms of books, but in the quality time it encourages with your children. It’s especially meaningful for veteran families like ours, helping maintain those military links and showing our kids that they’re part of something bigger.”
Not just for the kids!
Reading Force also runs popular book clubs for veterans, partners and spouses, and serving personnel. Our Book Club Ambassador Nicola Hill supports coordinators to get a book club up and running and we provide the first three books for each participant for free, along with guidance on how to run your book club and keep it thriving after completing the three free reads from us. This initiative is perfect for enhancing your existing wellbeing programme or bringing together groups of veterans for a shared activity. We’ve also had several veteran supporting organisations set one up within their staff.
Just one more page
Thanks to support from The Veterans’ Foundation, we have created a new adult journal for adults connected to the military – serving, veteran, partners and spouses – to accompany their own reading journey. This 48-page journal is half Reading Journal, half Wellbeing Journal, thoughtfully created using feedback from our amazing community. It features space to log the books you’re reading, reflect on your thoughts, and enjoy mindfulness activities designed to nourish your wellbeing. The journal also includes information on how to join a Reading Force Book Club, available both online and in person.
A veteran’s story
For one Royal Navy veteran, Reading Force has “created a strong emotional connection to reading and to the military community” for his blended family.
Jamie Phillips joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 and proudly served for 20 years as a Warfare Rating. Over his career, he served on both Type 42 and Type 45 Destroyers and left the service as a Chief Gunner. Since leaving the service, he has signed up to Reading Force after hearing about the charity from Reading Force Ambassador Lucy.
How can you take part?
Really easily! Simply go onto our website – www.readingforce.org.uk – and complete the registration form to tell us the age/s of your child/children so we can post them age appropriate books and scrapbooks or a tween/teen journal if they’re aged 11+. Each child will receive one book and one accompanying resource. Once you receive your pack in the post, you can read the book/s together and chat about them, or, depending on the ages of the children, read individually and then come back together to share your thoughts on the book. Then together you can fill the scrapbook with comments, doodles, drawings, and photos. Completed scrapbooks can be sent to Reading Force by Freepost – we love seeing what you create! – and you will then be sent a certificate to acknowledge your participation, have your scrapbook returned to you to keep as a special memento, and the prize of another book.
Next steps…
To request books and materials for your family head to the Reading Force website:
www.readingforce.org.uk
If you’re a veteran organisation please email
lucy@readingforce.org.uk to find out how we can support you with resources and information.
To enquire about book club availability, please email nicola@readingforce.org.uk