NEW RESEARCH PROJECT: GREEN LIGHT FOR STUDY ON CHILDREN WITH FATHERS IN THE UK ARMED FORCES
A new study focusing on the health and well-being of forces children is about to get under way. Expected to run for three years, it will be led by researchers at the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR). Read on for further details.
'The Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, is delighted to announce that the US Department of Defense has given nearly £1 million (1.7 million USD) funding to study the health and well-being of children whose fathers either are, or have been, in the UK armed forces.
Dr Amy Iversen, who will be leading the research with Dr Nicola Fear, both from the King's Centre for Military Health Research, said: "The US Department of Defense felt this was an area in which they would like to conduct further research and were encouraged by the fact that the Institute of Psychiatry has a cohort study of military fathers who had given permission to be involved in further research".
The research aims to better understand the effects of paternal deployment, and possible subsequent paternal mental-health problems, on children of UK armed forces personnel. They will examine a wide range of health and well-being issues in military children, including mental health and school performance.
Dr Iversen continues: "This is an exciting piece of research as we know little about the impact of fathers' well-being on children's development and it is particularly interesting in the military context with the added challenges of separation due to deployment."'
PICTURES: MARRIED QUARTERS IN BORDON, HAMPSHIRE
Reproduced below are two postcards showing Royal Artillery married quarters in Bordon, Hampshire. A British Army base since the start of the twentieth century, more images and information relating to Bordon can be found on the Hantsphere website.
Below: This postcard shows the Royal Artillery married quarters in Station Road, Bordon. (© Hampshire Library & Information Service – Hampshire County Council. TACA is grateful to Hampshire County Council for permission to reproduce this image.)
Below: A postcard captioned 'Royal Artillery Married Quarters, Bordon'.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: THE HAVEL SCHOOL, BERLIN, (WEST) GERMANY
Thanks to Jens Dunne, who has been in touch concerning the missing name of the day school in Berlin attended by army children from the early 1970s to 1992 that is listed in the item headed 'BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BAOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND SPECIAL TRAINS' on TACA's 'SCHOOLING' page. According to Jens (who was a student there), this was the Havel School, and its premises are now an RAF base.
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A STANDING INVITATION TO ALL FORMER AND CURRENT ARMY CHILDREN
If you were, or are, an army child, how about contributing your story to TACA? Click here for more details, including how to get in touch.
PICTURES: NINETEENTH-CENTURY SERVICE FAMILY ACCOMMODATION ("TOMMY ATKINS" MARRIED – PAST AND PRESENT, 1884)
Click here for scenes from "Tommy Atkins" Married – Past and Present (1884) showing army families in camp at Cove Common, Aldershot, as well as at home in the corner of a barrack room and in modern married quarters ('modern' by the standards of 1884, at least).
PICTURE: A SOLDIER’S FAMILY GRIEVES BY HIS GRAVE ("TOMMY ATKINS" MARRIED – PAST AND PRESENT, 1884)
For a sad scene entitled 'A Soldier's Funeral', dating from 1884, click here.
ADVICE FOR FORMER BRITISH ARMY CHILDREN WHO WERE BORN ABROAD ON HOW TO APPLY FOR THEIR BIRTH CERTIFICATES
Click here for some pointers on how to apply for the birth certificates of army children who were born abroad during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
PICTURES: ARMY WIVES AND CHILDREN ON THE MARCH ("TOMMY ATKINS" MARRIED – PAST AND PRESENT, 1884)
For an idea of how army families were transported from posting to posting on land during the nineteenth century – that is, before railways became prevalent – click here.
PICTURE: "TOMMY ATKINS" MARRIED – PAST AND PRESENT, 1884
Click here to see "Tommy Atkins" Married – Past and Present, a composite print first published in 1884 in The Graphic depicting details of Victorian army families’ lives.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: WHERE ARE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS OF RNS VERDALA, MALTA, ARCHIVED?
David Woolfenden would like to discover the whereabouts of the administrative records of the Royal Naval School (RNS) Verdala, in Malta, which closed in 1976. For more, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, JULLUNDUR, INDIA
Click here to view a postcard captioned 'Parade Ground, Showing Married quarters – Jullundur'.
A GUIDE FOR FAMILIES IN GERMANY, MAY 1954: ENTERTAINMENT
To read some extracts from a booklet published in 1954 outlining the types of entertainment available to British service personnel and their families in (West) Germany, click here.
CHILDREN'S BOOK: MY DADDY'S GOING AWAY . . .
For information on My Daddy's Going Away . . ., an illustrated storybook for young children by serving army officer and father of two Major Christopher MacGregor, and its associated website, click here.
PICTURE: GARRISON SCHOOL, VERDALA, MALTA, 1921
To view a photograph, dated 1921, showing staff and pupils at the Garrison School, Verdala, Malta, click here.
PICTURES: MISS AND MASTER TOMMY ATKINS, c.1910
Click here for two playing cards showing 'Miss Tommy Atkins the Soldier's Daughter' and 'Master Tommy Atkins the Soldier's Son' from a set called 'Funny Families', c.1910.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: SEEKING INFORMATION ON A BIRTH DURING THE RETREAT TO CORUNNA
Liz Brown is researching the birth of an army child to the wife of a private in the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot during the retreat to Corunna (1808–9); click here for further details.
PICTURES: BMH/RNH GIBRALTAR
For a pair of postcards of BMH Gibraltar, click here.
PICTURE: 'THE CAMP AT ALDERSHOT – ON DUTY', MARRIED QUARTERS IN 1871
Click here for an illustration of a Victorian army family in front of their married-quarter hut in Aldershot, Hampshire, which was published in The Graphic in 1871.
SOME CHRISTMAS RECIPES FOR THE FAMILY: CHRISTMAS FARE 1949
To read extracts from Some Christmas Recipes for the Family: Christmas Fare 1949, a booklet produced by the Army Catering Corps for 'married families' stationed in West Germany at the start of the Cold War, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BOY SOLDIERS AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY REGIMENTAL MUSTER ROLLS
Click here for Art Cockerill's advice to Janet Adams regarding discovering more about her great-great-grandfather, an army child born in Gibraltar in 1781.
PICTURES: ASSAYE BARRACKS AND MARRIED QUARTERS, TIDWORTH, WILTSHIRE
To view an old postcard of Assaye Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire, click here; and to see another, showing a row of terraced married quarters, captioned 'Assaye, M.Q., Tidworth', click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: SEEKING OLD FRIENDS, HONG KONG, 1956–58
David Rumford would like to hear from anyone who knew him between 1956 and 1958, when he and his family lived in Hong Kong. Click here for further details.
PERSONAL STORY: 'THE HUMDRUM LIFE OF AN ARMY BRAT'?
Click here to read John Legg's account of his army childhood, including his experiences in Malta, Libya, Wiltshire, Cheshire and Malaya/Malaysia during the 1950s and early 1960s.
ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECT: THE 'FAMILY LIFE AND THE ARMED FORCES STUDY'
Katherine Shelton, of Cardiff University's School of Psychology, is looking for forces families to participate in a research study on family life and the armed forces. Click here for further details.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, FLORIANA, MALTA
For a view of some married quarters in Floriana, Malta, as they appeared around a century ago, click here.
NEW RESEARCH: THE ORIGINS OF THE TERM 'BRAT'
Dr Grace Clifton, working with the US Army, has investigated why military children are often familiarly termed 'brats'; click here to read their conclusions.
NEW RESEARCH: 'THE OVERLOOKED CASUALTIES OF CONFLICT'
Click here for information on a report published on 5 November 2009 by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children's Fund detailing the challenges faced by children with a parent in the armed forces.
REMEMBRANCE POEM: 'TO TONY – AGED 3 (IN MEMORY: T. P. C. W.)'
For Marjorie Wilson's memorial poem, written for the child of a soldier who was killed in action in France in 1918, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MY ARMY LIFE, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY PERIPATETIC UPBRINGING
Click here to read Julie Hewitt's account of growing as an army child in the UK and Cyprus between 1953 and 1965, and her thoughts on the damaging consequences of 'going to too many schools and living in too many houses'.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: 'I WONDER IF I'LL EVER FIND OUT WHICH HOUSE WAS BLUE IN PASIR PANJANG'
To view some photographs of Bourne School, Singapore, dating from the 1960s, contributed by former pupil Leslie Rutledge (who also attended junior school in Pasir Panjang), click here.
'WHERE THERE ARE FIVE CHILDREN, THE REGULATION PROVIDES FOR FOUR ROOMS AND A SCULLERY': CHILDREN OF THE REGIMENT IN 1896
For a description of the married quarters that were being built to accommodate soldiers' families in the UK by the end of the nineteenth century, click here.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS: 'ARMY LIFE CERTAINLY FORMS PART OF A PERSON'S CHARACTER'
Click here to read Leslie Rutledge's thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of being brought up as an army child (and here for the Rutledge family's story).
THE SERVING SOLDIER: NEW HISTORICAL WEBSITE
For details of The Serving Soldier website, which provides online access to original material held by King's College London's Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: AN ARMY SCHOOL TEACHER IN NEPAL, 1976–78
Angela (Vikki) Richardson was a teacher with the Service Children's Education Authority (SCEA); click here for her recollections of SCS Dharan, Nepal, where she taught primary-school-aged army children.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART XI
To read Leslie Rutledge's account of his army family's last posting, to Malvern Wells in Worcestershire, click here.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART V
Click here to see images contributed by Jeff Harrison of St John's School and Bourne School, Singapore.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: WILLIAM ISLEY AND THE 52ND (OXFORDSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY) REGIMENT OF FOOT
Read CC's reference to a nineteenth-century soldier and erstwhile army child by clicking here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART X
For Part X of Leslie Rutledge's army-child story, in which he tells of life in Willich, (West) Germany, during the mid-1960s, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: GREAT DAYS IN SEREMBAN, MALAYA
Click here for Stuart Lloyd's memories of Christmas 1968, which he spent in Seremban, Malaya/Malaysia.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BOURNE SCHOOL, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, AND GROUP WEBSITES
To read Colin McCormac's report on how Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia) appeared on a return visit in 2006, and for information on Yahoo! and Facebook groups dedicated to former British forces' schools in the Far East, click here.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART IV
For a selection of images from a pamphlet marking the closure of Bourne School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia), in 1965, as well as some of Jeff Harrison's photographs showing how the school's former premises appear today, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART IX
Click here to read Part IX of Leslie Rutledge's story, in which he describes living in temporary accommodation in Blackpool before moving to Willich, (West) Germany, and attending Kent School, at Waldniel Hostert.
PERSONAL STORY: 'A COUPLE OF YEARS AFTER THE CLASS PHOTO WAS TAKEN, WE WERE ON A SIX-WEEK VOYAGE TO JAMAICA'
Army-child Barbara Rayner lived in (West) Germany and Jamaica during the late 1950s and early 1960s; click here for her photographs of a Sennelager primary-school class in 1958 and the troopship MS Dunera.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART III
To view Jeff Harrison's photographs of Arakan House, Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (Malaysia), then and now, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART VIII
For Part VIII of Leslie Rutledge's story, which includes his recollections of Bourne School, Singapore, in 1964, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'I LOVE MY PARENTS AND THE ARMY FOR "DRAGGING" ME AROUND THE WORLD WITH THEM'
Click here to read Kerry Millward's account of an army childhood spent in Hanover (Hannover), Wickrath and Rheindahlen, in (West) Germany, as well as in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Gibraltar and England.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART II
For some photographs from Jeff Harrison's copy of the 1964 issue of the magazine published by Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART VII
To read Part VII of Leslie Rutledge's story, in which he tells of his family's posting to Singapore between 1962 and 1964, click here.
'EVEN THE WEEK-OLD INFANT IS SUPPLIED WITH A GOVERNMENT RATION': CHILDREN OF THE REGIMENT IN 1896
For an indication of how army children were fed in 1896, click here.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART I
Jeff Harrison attended Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia), as a boarder between 1963 and 1965. Click here to view some photographs of Jeff's then home in Seremban, also in Malaya; of Arakan House's open day at Bourne School in 1964; and of Prince Philip’s visit to the school in 1963 or 1964.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART VI
Between May and September 1962, the Rutledge family lived in Hong Kong, in both Kowloon and Sek Kong, where they were exposed to the full force of Typhoon Wanda. Click here to read the sixth instalment of Leslie Rutledge's story.
'CONFLICTS OF INTEREST': A NEW EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM
For information on the 'Conflicts of Interest' exhibition that opened at the National Army Museum in London on 12 September 2009, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART V
In Part V of his account of life as an army child, Leslie Rutledge recalls moving to Sennelager, (West) Germany, and gaining three more sisters there, before briefly living in a hostel in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. Click here to read it.
PRINCE RUPERT SCHOOL (PRS), WILHELMSHAVEN, GERMANY: A VIDEO CLIP OF THE LAST DAY
Click here, and then navigate down to 'PRINCE RUPERT SCHOOL (PRS), WILHELMSHAVEN, GERMANY: THEN AND NOW', for the link that activates a video clip of the last day, in June 1972, of PRS at Wilhelmshaven.
REVIEW: SMALL WARS
Click here to read a review of Sadie Jones’ novel, Small Wars (2009).
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART IV
For Part IV of Leslie Rutledge's recollections of life as an army child, in which he describes sailing from Hong Kong to Liverpool on HMT Oxfordshire and his family's subsequent posting to Paderborn, (West) Germany, click here.
'A CONCERT BY SOLDIERS' CHILDREN IS FREQUENTLY A TREAT': CHILDREN OF THE REGIMENT IN 1896
Click here for a brief description of army children's education circa 1896, and of their apparent talent for making music.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART III
To read Part III of Leslie Rutledge's story, in which he describes sailing to Hong Kong by troopship in 1956 and family life in Kowloon and the New Territories, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: MYSTERY BIRTH IN 'ISLEY BLOU'
For more information on the puzzle that Anne Hitchen has been trying to solve for years – the mystery birth of Eliza Isley Kelly in 'Isley Blou, Spain', in around 1812 – click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART II
Click here for Part II of Leslie Rutledge's story, in which he tells of his father briefly returning to civvy street in Wales before rejoining the Royal Engineers in 1954 and then being posted to Korea, leaving his growing family behind in Perham Down, Wiltshire.
'CLEAN, STURDY, HEALTHY LITTLE URCHINS': CHILDREN OF THE REGIMENT IN 1896
Click here for a description, dating from 1896, of the 'children of the regiment', and of how the birthday of the 'daughter of the regiment' was customarily celebrated at that time.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD, 1950–70, PART I
To read the first part of Leslie Rutledge's story, which spans the years 1948 to 1953 and features the birth of two of Leslie's seven siblings and his family’s posting to Trieste, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, SHORNCLIFFE, KENT
For an early twentieth-century view of married quarters at Shorncliffe, Kent, click here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BMH RINTELN, (WEST) GERMANY
Click here for a little background information on BMH Rinteln and the (West) German town of Rinteln, in Lower Saxony, where this British military hospital (BMH) was situated before its closure in 1996.
TACA-RELATED ARTICLE IN FAMILY HISTORY MONTHLY MAGAZINE'S SEPTEMBER 2009 ISSUE
Family History Monthly magazine's September 2009 issue featured 'Following the Drum', an article by Clare Gibson on tracking down army children of the past, and also on TACA. For further information, click here.
OPEN LETTER: WHEN THE WORST HAPPENS
For a link to Alexandra Blair's 'Open letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe's daughters, from the daughter of a murdered officer', which was published in The Times newspaper on 9 July 2009, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS IN PESHAWAR, INDIA
For a glimpse of what soldiers' married quarters in Peshawar (then part of British India, and today of Pakistan) looked like in around 1910, click here.
IN THE NEWS: THE ELIZABETH CROSS
For information on the Elizabeth Cross, which will be awarded from 1 August 2009 to the next of kin of UK armed forces personnel who have died on operations or as a result of terrorism from 1948 to date, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'I HAVE CHANGED COMPLETELY'
For Taima McDonald-Pizey's summary of her army childhood, including her experience of attending school in Münster, (West) Germany, between 1979 and 1980, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: AN EAST AFRICAN ADVENTURE
Click here to read Penelope Ann Perry's account of travelling from England to Kenya in 1949, and of living near Nakuru, and later in Jinja, Uganda, during the 1950s and 1960s.
A GUIDE FOR FAMILIES IN GERMANY, MAY 1954: MEDICAL SERVICES
For an idea of the medical care available to army families stationed in (West) Germany in 1954, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, HOUNSLOW BARRACKS, MIDDLESEX
Click here for a sepia-toned view of married quarters at Hounslow Barracks, in Middlesex.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: ENLISTMENT AS A DRUMMER, AGED FIVE
Janet Adams is keen to learn more about the life of John Murray, who was born to a British soldier serving at Gibraltar in 1781 and enlisted in the British Army as a drummer at five years of age. To learn more, click here.
IN THE NEWS: JOANNA LUMLEY
To see why actress and former army child Joanna Lumley hit the headlines on 21 May 2009, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: INFORMATION SOUGHT ON BEECH-HANGER COURT, CATERHAM, SURREY
Jane O'Connor is seeking information on Beech-hanger Court, Caterham, Surrey, in around 1945. For further details, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE IN MARRIED QUARTERS IN EARLY POST-WAR BRITAIN
Click here to read about Peter Crump's disrupted early years and to learn what it was like to be a young army child in Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, Wales, during the early 1950s.
A GUIDE FOR FAMILIES IN GERMANY, MAY 1954: FOOD
For an insight into the advice given to army families moving to (West) Germany in 1954 on family food rations, where to buy food and what to avoid, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, WOOLWICH, LONDON
Click here for a postcard of married quarters in Woolwich, south-east London, dating from around World War I.
PICTURES: WEST RIDING BARRACKS, DORTMUND, (WEST) GERMANY, 1954–56
To see some photographs that Alan Robson took between 1954 and 1956, featuring army children at West Riding Barracks, Dortmund, in (West) Germany, click here.
CHILDREN'S BOOK: SOLDIER OLI
For details of Soldier Oli, a rhyming picture book for pre-school children, written by Kirsty Marvell to help army children understand and cope if someone in their family has to go away on tour, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: SEEKING A SCHOOLFRIEND, (WEST) GERMANY, 1978–81
Linda McIver is trying to trace a friend from her schooldays in Sennelager and Gütersloh, in (West) Germany. For further information, click here.
PICTURE: CATTERICK CAMP, NORTH YORKSHIRE
To see a postcard of Catterick Camp, North Yorkshire, with details of Sandes Soldiers Home; the post office; the garrison theatre; and Boulogne Lines, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'MÜNSTER – I CAN'T FAULT THE PLACE'
For Gerald Lipton's memories of attending Swinton Primary School in Senden, (West) Germany, and then Edinburgh School in Münster, and of the shock of moving from Germany to Scotland in the early 1980s, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: DO YOU RECOGNISE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
If you were an army child living in Katapahar, Darjeeling, Bengal, India, in 1935, Michael Few wonders whether you'll recognise yourself in the photograph that you'll see if you click here.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS: MY DADDY IS A SOLDIER AND MY MUMMY IS A SOLDIER
For details of My Daddy Is A Soldier and My Mummy Is A Soldier, by Gerry Waters, both books that were written to help today's small army children cope with their fathers' or mothers' absence when they are deployed on operations, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'I'M JUST SO GLAD I WAS AN ARMY KID'
Joan McCartney (née O'Brien) and her twin sister were born in BMH Wuppertal, in what was then West Germany. Click here for her memories of her army childhood, which encompass living in Germany, England, Cyprus and Hong Kong.
PERSONAL STORY: MY LIFE AS AN ARMY CHILD
Sheila Danks (née Wayman) spent the first years of her life as an army child in (West) Germany, Cyprus, England, Hong Kong, North Wales and Scotland. To read more, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MY EDUCATION AS A MARRIED-QUARTERS' CHILD
To read Chris Fussell's outline of his education as an army child, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, BULFORD CAMP
To view a postcard showing red-brick, terraced married quarters at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: LOOKING FOR OLD FRIENDS
Helen Posaner (née James) is looking for friends from her childhood days in Fallingbostel, (West) Germany, and Colchester; for further details, click here.
NEW RESEARCH: THE EDUCATION OF ARMED FORCES CHILDREN IN STATE SCHOOLS
For Aggie Robertson's conclusions following her research into the education of armed forces children in British state schools, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MY TIME AT ALEXANDRA GRAMMAR SCHOOL, SINGAPORE, 1959–62
Click here for Roger White's memories of attending Alexander Grammar School, in Singapore, during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
PERSONAL STORY: A WARTIME CHILDHOOD SPENT IN MALTA, 1938–46
To read Doreen McKeown's memories of being bombed – and more – while living in Malta during World War II, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: RATINGEN JUNIOR SCHOOL, GERMANY, 1956–59
Stephanie Strawbridge (née Hollier) would like to hear from anyone who went to Ratingen Junior School, in (West) Germany, between 1956 and 1959. For further details, click here.
FAMILY-HISTORY RESEARCH: ROBERT AND SYDNEY COCKMAN, GORDON HIGHLANDERS (AND AN ARMY SCHOOLMASTER) DURING THE BOER WAR
For Virginia Silvester's article outlining the story of the Cockman brothers' army careers, and of the impact that the military way of life had on their families, click here.
PRINCE RUPERT SCHOOL (PRS), WILHELMSHAVEN, GERMANY: THEN AND NOW
For a selection of links to some video clips taken from a DVD about PRS Wilhelmshaven that can now be watched on YouTube, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: BULLFROGS, CICADAS AND MACHINE-GUN FIRE IN EGYPT, 1951
For Chris Fussell's recollection of the jitteriness that pervaded his army-child's world in the aftermath of rioting in Ismailia, Egypt, in 1951, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIVING AND LEARNING IN AUSTRIA, 1953 TO 1955
John Leggett lived in Vienna, Graz and Klagenfurt as an army child. Click here to discover more about his time in Austria.
DEATH ON THE MARCH: FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE ON THE RETREAT TO CORUNNA, 1808–9
To read Rifleman Benjamin Harris' haunting description of the suffering that army children experienced on the retreat to Corunna, during the Peninsular War, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: A MARRIED-QUARTER CRISIS IN EGYPT
For Chris Fussell's account of a family crisis in Egypt, click here.
PICTURE: CHRISTMAS DINNER ON A TROOPSHIP, 1889
To view a sketch of Victorian-era army children enjoying Christmas dinner on a troopship, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MAGICAL CHRISTMASES IN GERMANY
To read Terry Friend's memories of Christmases in Hohne, (West) Germany, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: INFORMATION SOUGHT ON ARMY SCHOOLS IN AUSTRIA
Do you know anything about the BFES schools that educated army children in Austria after World War II? If so, William Dickins (and TACA) would like to hear from you. Click here to read more.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: EDWARD JAMES BIRCH, BORN 1881, BERMUDA
For details of Jack O'Brien's quest to discover more about the Bermudan-born army child Edward James Birch, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: REGARDING 'DID YOU GO TO A STATE SCHOOL IN THE UK?'
To read a message from Aggie Robertson to those who contributed to her research, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, CATTERICK CAMP, NORTH YORKSHIRE
Click here to see a postcard captioned 'Warrant officers' married quarters, Royal Signals, Catterick Camp'.
PICTURE: 'LIFE ON BOARD A TROOP-SHIP: "COMMENCE FIRING"'
For an illustration showing the presence of army children when permission was given for pipes to be lit on the Himalaya troopship's upper deck in 1873, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MAYHEM IN A MALTESE MARRIED QUARTER
To read Chris Fussell's account of the night that his family's dogs ran amok on Malta, click here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: GIBRALTAR
For details of the Discover Gibraltar website, visit the 'LINKS' section of TACA'S 'POSTINGS' page.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: THE KING'S GERMAN LEGION AND NINETEENTH-CENTURY ARMY SCHOOLS
For details of Peter Cole's request for information about the King's German Legion in Bexhill, East Sussex, and particularly about the regimental school there, as well as about the 8th Acting Army Schoolmasters' Course, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: THE PROS AND CONS OF AN ARMY CHILDHOOD
For Anne Miller's views on the benefits and disadvantages of an army childhood, click here.
PICTURE: 'THE CHILD HE WILL NEVER SEE!'
Click here to see a tear-jerking World War I-era postcard.
PERSONAL STORY: REFLECTIONS ON REMEMBRANCE DAY
To read Terry Friend's reflections on past and present Remembrance Days, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: EXPERT FIRST AID IN MALTA
Click here for Chris Fussell's tale of being tended to by some expert first-aiders while living in Malta.
PERSONAL STORY: LEISURE TIME IN LIBYA
For Mick Kiernan's recollections of how he and his army-children friends spent their free time while living in Benghazi, Libya, during the early 1950s, click here.
PERSONAL OBSERVATION: 'I HAVE NO MEMORIES'
Click here for more on how the army-child experience has affected Marie O'Brien.
PERSONAL STORY: THE HUNGARIAN UPRISING, OCTOBER TO NOVEMBER 1956
For Terry Friend's recollections of the knock-on effects of the Hungarian uprising on Bonfire Night in Hohne, (West) Germany, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BFES PRIMARY SCHOOL AT STADE, (WEST) GERMANY
For Elaine Hart's reflections on her BFES primary school at Stade, (West) Germany, and her quest to discover the name of her inspirational teacher there, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BFPO, BTA AND MELF NUMBERS
Lists of British Forces Post Office (BFPO), BTA (British Troops Austria) and MELF (Middle East Land Forces) numbers are being compiled by Peter Watson. If you think that you can add to them, click here for further information.
PERSONAL STORY: SCHOOLDAYS IN BENGHAZI, LIBYA
To read Mick Kiernan's memories of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation School, in Benghazi, Libya, and a camping trip to Ras el Hilal, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: SOME SNAPSHOTS OF GROWING UP IN POST-WAR AUSTRIA AND BERLIN
For Lorina Lumsden's recollections of her family's postings to Austria and Berlin, (West) Germany, click here.
HIDDEN LIVES REVEALED: THE VIRTUAL ARCHIVE OF THE WAIFS AND STRAYS' SOCIETY
For information on a virtual archive that focuses on the stories of children, some of them army children, in the care of the Waifs and Strays' Society between 1881 and 1918, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BAOR POSTCODES
Click here for Peter Watson's list of British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) postcodes.
PERSONAL STORY: SCHOOLDAYS AT HOHNE AND PRINCE RUPERT SCHOOL, WILHELMSHAVEN, GERMANY
For Terry Friend's recollections of life at primary school in Hohne, (West) Germany, and at Prince Rupert School (PRS), a secondary (boarding) school in Wilhelmshaven, (West) Germany, click here.
FAMILY-HISTORY RESEARCH: RICHARD FORD (1807–84), ARMOURER SERGEANT, ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT/18TH REGIMENT OF FOOT, AND HIS FAMILY
Chris Merry's research into the lives and times of his soldier great-great-grandfather and family can be read in the January 2009 issue (issue 73) of Your Family Tree magazine.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: BRITISH MILITARY HOSPITALS IN GERMANY
For information provided by Peter Watson on British military hospitals (BMHs) in Germany, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'MALTA SEEMED VERY EXOTIC TO ME'
For Mick Kiernan's account of a memorable stopover on Malta in 1951, en route from England to Benghazi, Libya, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: THE ARMY CHILD WHO GREW UP TO BECOME AN ASTRONAUT
US astronaut Piers Sellars was a bona fide British army child. To learn more, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: THE CAMP AT HOHNE, GERMANY
To read Terry Friend's recollections of the camp at Hohne, in (West) Germany, between 1951 and 1961, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS, HOUNSLOW
To see how some married quarters in barracks in Hounslow, Middlesex, looked at the start of the twentieth century, click here.
REVIEW: CURRIES & BUGLES: A MEMOIR & COOKBOOK OF THE BRITISH RAJ
For a review of Jennifer Brennan's evocative, India-focused memoir-cum-cookbook, click here.
PICTURES: KING ALFRED SCHOOL (KAS) TRAINS
To see some photographs of the trains that transported pupils to and from King Alfred School, Plön, in Germany, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MARRIED QUARTERS IN HOHNE, GERMANY
For Terry Friend's description of the married quarters in which his family lived in Hohne, Germany, from 1951 to 1961, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: 'EVER HEARD A SHOT FIRED IN ANGER?'
Chris Fussell has. To read more about his exciting experience in Ismailia, Egypt, in 1950, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: EDINBURGH SCHOOL, MÜNSTER, GERMANY
For a few facts on Edinburgh School's beginning and end, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: HAPPY DAYS IN HONG KONG, 1953
To read about Richard Hall's voyage east on the Empire Orwell and year in Hong Kong, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: WARTIME IN THE UK; PEACETIME IN MALTA, EGYPT AND OXFORDSHIRE
For Chris Fussell's recollections of growing up in Northern Ireland and Aldershot during World War II, and then Malta and Egypt, as well as Oxfordshire, after the war, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MEMORIES OF MÜNSTER, 1958–60
To read Richard Hall's memories of living in Münster, (West) Germany, during the late 1950s, click here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: PLÖN AM SEE
For a view of Plön, in northern Germany, where the BFES' King Alfred School (KAS) was located between 1948 and 1959, as well as some useful related links, click here.
FROM KASHMIR TO KENT: JOANNA LUMLEY'S ARMY-CHILD CREDENTIALS
For details of Joanna Lumley's links with India, and the Gurkhas, click here.
PICTURE: A REGIMENTAL SCHOOL IN INDIA
To see an image of the regimental school of the 1st Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment (previously the 48th Foot) in India, in around 1889–90, click here.
TACA CORRESPONDENCE: LOOKING FOR LOST FRIENDS
Nathan Williams (b.1985) is looking for lost friends from his army childhood in Germany, Hong Kong and Britain. For further details, click here.
PERSONAL OBSERVATION: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF A FORCES' CHILDHOOD
For a TACA correspondent's suggested negative consequence of growing up as an army child, click here.
RECENT RESEARCH: 'BORN ABROAD' STATISTICS
For some information on the findings of analysis of the 2001 census of Britain relating to the birthplaces of army children, click here.
PICTURE: THE SS NEVASA
To see a photograph of the SS Nevasa, click here.
QUESTION: 'WHERE IS MY HOME?'
For more on the perennial army-child question, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: BERLIN, 1948 TO 1951
To read Tim Sanders' account of travelling from England to West Germany as young army child in 1948, and then of living in West Berlin from 1948 to 1951, click here.
'YOU'RE SELF-RELIANT': JENNY AGUTTER'S REFLECTIONS ON ARMY-CHILD TRAITS
For actress Jenny Agutter's thoughts on the character-forming effects of growing up as an army child, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: A GERMAN-BORN ARMY CHILD'S EXPERIENCES IN WEST GERMANY, MALTA AND ENGLAND
To read Hans-Jürgen Kariger's story of his 'odyssey' as an army child between 1954 and 1966, which encompassed periods living in Hameln, Helmstedt, Berlin and Krefeld in [West] Germany; Birkikara and Hamrun in Malta; and Catterick Camp in England; as well as his memories of Kent School, Hostert, and Hipswell County Modern, Catterick, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MEMORIES OF POST-WAR BERLIN
Elizabeth Robertson's father was the commandant of Berlin's British Sector between 1949 and 1951. To read her recollections of Berlin at this time, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: EXPERIENCING TERROR AND THRILLS AT CATTERICK CAMP AND WAR'S OUTBREAK AT ALDERSHOT
To read JRG's memories of Catterick and Aldershot during the 1930s and early 1940s, click here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: THE BRITISH FORCES POST OFFICE (BFPO) AND BFPO NUMBERS
For an overview of the history and function of the British Forces Post Office (BFPO), and a selection of BFPO numbers current in 2008, click here.
TACA NEWS: MAGAZINE MENTIONS
For details of the magazines that have featured TACA to date, click here.
PICTURE: 'LIFE ON BOARD A TROOP-SHIP: DINNER-TIME'
For an illustration depicting army wives and children aboard the Himalaya troopship at dinnertime in 1873, click here.
REVIEW: MALTA, 1937-1942: SOME CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
To read a review of a booklet recalling Michael Longyear's experiences as an army child in peace- and wartime Malta, click here.
PICTURES: BULFORD CAMP, SALISBURY PLAIN, WILTSHIRE
For an early bird's-eye view of Bulford Camp, click here; and for an early picture of the 'C' lines married quarters at Bulford Camp, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LIFE IN THE BARRACKS, DORCHESTER, DORSET, 1925-35
For Bob Manning's memories of growing up in the Dorsetshire Regiment's Depot Barracks, in Dorchester, Dorset, between 1925 and 1935, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MARY SEACOLE
For Mary Seacole's explanation of her army-child credentials, click here.
PICTURE: NEWCASTLE MILITARY CANTONMENT, JAMAICA
For an image of Newcastle Military Cantonment, Jamaica, and Mary Seacole's observation regarding English people's vulnerability to yellow fever in Jamaica, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS IN TRIMULGHERRY, INDIA
To view a snapshot of the married quarters in Laswarrie Road, Trimulgherry, India, taken before World War II, click here.
QUESTION: AN INFLUENTIAL START IN LIFE?
To consider this question further, click here.
NEW RESEARCH: THE EXPERIENCE OF EDUCATION OF THE ARMY CHILD
For the main conclusions of Dr Grace Clifton's research into the educational experience of twenty-first-century army children attending secondary schools in the UK, click here; and for more details of her research and findings, click here.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BAOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND SPECIAL TRAINS
For Peter Watson's summary of the establishment of BAOR secondary schools in (West) Germany in the aftermath of World War II, and of the special trains that served them, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: WARTIME IN EGYPT AND SOUTH AFRICA, PEACETIME IN ENGLAND AND SINGAPORE
For Daisy Caroline Blythe's outline of a peripatetic childhood, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: LADY ELSPETH CAMPBELL
To read about Lady Elspeth Campbell's experiences as an army child, click here.
PICTURE: MARRIED QUARTERS IN DEVIZES
For a World War I-era postcard showing the married quarters at Devizes Barracks, Wiltshire, click here.
QUESTION: BARRACK RATS AND ARMY BRATS
For Alan Greveson's suggestion regarding the question posed on the 'Memories & miscellanea' page, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: RECOLLECTIONS OF A 'DAUGHTER OF THE GUARDS'
For Ada Evelyn Tapner's recollections of life at the Guards Depot, Upper Caterham, Surrey, during World War I, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: BROTHERS IN ARMS
For a summary of the places in which Daniel Phoenix lived as an army child during the 1980s and 1990s, and the Phoenix brothers' career choices, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: MEMORIES OF WOOLWICH, BY AN RAF OFFICER
For Squadron Leader Trevor Peacock's memories of Woolwich between the wars, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: GOING TO SCHOOL ON BOARD A TROOPSHIP, AS WELL AS IN GERMANY, HONG KONG, WALES, PLYMOUTH, SINGAPORE, SOUTHAMPTON AND CYPRUS
For Thelma Jean Marshall's memories of the places where she went to school as an army child, click here.
PICTURE: 'PERFECT LITTLE DEVILS'
For an illustration, dating from 1887, of a children's tug-of-war game aboard a troopship, click here.
PICTURES: QUARTERS IN TIDWORTH
For pictures of married quarters in Tidworth, Wiltshire, around a century ago, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: A CHILDHOOD SPENT IN INDIA, ENGLAND AND ITALY
For Maggie Johns' memories of spending her early years in India during the 1930s, the World War II years in England and the immediate post-war years in Italy, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: FROM BRITAIN TO GERMANY, VIA KENYA
For Margaret Cleeve's tale of travelling on the troopship Nevasa to Kenya, and of going to school in Gilgil and Eldoret, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: BARRACK RATS OF THE PAST & PERSONAL STORY: KILLED IN ACTION
Dan Kirwan's father was killed in 1915, at the second battle of Ypres. To read Dan's story and Art Cockerill's account of the Kirwan family's plight, click here.
PICTURE: BMH ISERLOHN, GERMANY
For an aerial postcard of BMH Iserlohn, Germany, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: BOARDING IN BROADSTAIRS
For KW's memories of Hildersham House, Broadstairs, Kent, click here.
PERSONAL STORY: HOLIDAYS IN GIBRALTAR
For SW's memories of holidays in Gibraltar, click here.
