The band room on Alanbrooke Barracks was transformed on the mornings of 3rd and 4th March for the FS1 Day in the Desert Event. The children, aged 3 and 4 were from the Foundation Stage 1 settings of Normandy, Teddy Bears and Dempsey from Sennelager and Honeypots in Paderborn. Almost 100 children attended over the two days.
All settings started with a demonstration from 102 Military Working Dogs Support Unit with their search dog (Max) which all the children were very impressed with and Max was rewarded with his ball and lots of tummy rubs by the children. The children then divided in to groups and rotated around the other 6 stands, ranging from trying on desert uniform (supported by 1PWRR), using tool kits (ran by 3 CS Bn REME) and finger printing practice (by 110 Pro Coy RMP). All children were given the chance to get dirty with cam cream and sit inside a tent (run by QRH), practice drill with the QDG and see ration packs and learn about how food is cooked out in the field. Events were rounded up with colouring in drawings of soldiers and looking at photos provided by Home20.
Children’s quotes:
Maddison Corbett said “I liked stroking the dog, he was really fluffy.”
Thomas Williams said “I liked dressing in army clothes and playing with the toolkit”.
Erin Wilcox said “I liked marching.”
The event was inspired by 5 RIFLES Day in The Desert event held at the beginning of February . Major Wendy Faux , 2IC of 5 RIFLES rear party organised that event and was approached by Liz Murtagh from Teddy Bears FS1 about organising something similar for the FS1aged children in the Garrison. Home20 were invited to help support the event, so it was a joint event by Home20 and 5RIFLES to get the event in place.
Liz Murtagh said “Our days in the desert have been a great success. Mums and Dads going away on tour has a massive impact on the lives of our children. The desert days have provided our children with an insight into the positive side of deployment, and experiences they can relate to in everyday life, for example the food their parents might be eating. Thank you again to all the Soldiers, Wendy and Diane, without them and the provision of buses from GTO these days would not have been possible.”
The event was fully supported by all the units approached as well as Naafi who provided the snacks and drinks for the children in JBs on Alanbrooke Barracks and the Garrison Transport Team who provided the transport. Everyone involved enjoyed the day and it was deemed to be a great success. |
