Leeds boy, 9, wins Little Troopers award for resilience shown as military dad serves away with British Army

Harry Green, who is currently living overseas with his family in Cyprus, has been awarded ‘Little Trooper of the Month’ after being nominated by his Mum, Steph.

Harry’s Dad, Lewis, serves in the British Army and in the last three years he has been deployed on military operations three times, which has meant spending more than a year in total away from home, missing several family birthdays, Christmases and special occasions.

As well as coping with his Dad working away from home a lot, Harry and his siblings, Lillie, Lewis and Emily, also had to say goodbye to friends and family when the family moved overseas to Cyprus in 2020.

Harry initially struggled to settle in, especially as the Covid lockdown prevented him from meeting new friends or exploring his new home, but he has since embraced the adventure of living overseas and loves visiting new places.

While living abroad, Harry has also battled some health issues, with recurrent abdominal migraines, and most recently is recovering from Covid, but his Mum says he also has a positive outlook and tries to make the best of every new situation.

“It’s been an unsettling few years for us as a family, but I’m so proud of Harry and how he’s taken it all in his stride. He’s showed great resilience, he’s managed to keep positive even when his Dad has been deployed." Steph said.

"We are over the moon that he has been recognised by Little Troopers. As a family we are now really looking forward to moving back to Leeds in the summer and Harry is ready for the new adventures ahead.”

As ‘Little Trooper of the Month’, Harry has received a Little Troopers medal, certificate and a £50 voucher.

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: “Having a parent deployed is one of the hardest challenges that military children go through, so to have to cope with consecutive deployments, as well as moving overseas with the military, will have been especially difficult for Harry and his family.

"We hope this award helps Harry to recognise just how special he is and how proud we all are of him for being such a little trooper.”

Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting children who have parents serving in the British Armed Forces. The charity has a number of resources that parents can use to support military children at home including the Little Troopers Separation Pack and Little Troopers Treasures story recording app.

The charity also runs a school programme which provides specialist resources, courses and workshops for teachers and service children in school.