Two young sisters from Heswall have been chosen from more than a hundred children to feature in a national charity calendar which shines a light on the unique experiences of military children during the last twelve months.

Five-year-old Evelyn Brown and her two-year-old sister Livi appear as the July entry in the Little Troopers 'Through Our Eyes' 2021 charity calendar.

Evelyn and Livi's Dad serves with the Royal Marines and in November 2019 he was deployed overseas. He had been due home in May, but his deployment was extended by three months due to the COVID lockdown.

While he was away, he missed Christmas, Easter and both of the girls' birthdays. The sisters made a 'welcome home' banner and were pictured waiting anxiously at the airport for him to arrive.

Mum Jayne explained: "They were so excited and nervous to see Daddy after eight months apart. Every time a car pulled up in the car park they thought it might be him! This picture really captures how emotional the last few months have been for us as a family going through lockdown and deployment on our own.

"I'm so proud of the girls and how they've coped and it's wonderful that they have been chosen to be included in the Little Troopers calendar."

Their photo will appear alongside other heartwarming photos and stories of real-life military children as seen through their eyes. The calendar also includes a monthly positive message from a celebrity who has either served in the military or grown-up as a military child.

Celebrities featured include Mark Ormrod MBE, Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes, Jordan North, Joanna Lumley and Andy McNab. Livi and Evelyn's photo will appear alongside a message from Kriss Akabusi.

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: "2020 has been a challenging year for children generally, but lots of military children have carried extra weight on their shoulders due to cancelled postings, extended deployments and other pressures.

"Lots of children, like Evelyn and Livi, have not only gone through lockdown but have been separated from their serving parent for a really long time.

"Evelyn and Livi's photo and the other images in the calendar really capture some of these moments and we hope that by sharing these stories, other military children will see that there are lots of Little Troopers in the world who share similar experiences and are part of this very special community of amazing and resilient young people."

The Little Troopers 2021 calendar is now on sale with all proceeds helping Little Troopers to continue providing fundamental resources and initiatives to support military children.

To find out more and buy a calendar if you so wish, click or tap here.