'At Your Service' Film Complete

A group of young people have finished their Fixers film, which raises awareness of the effects overseas deployment has on the families of armed forces members.

The Plymouth-based group, who all have a relative who is serving in the armed forces, want to show teachers and pupils in their schools how having a relative in the military affects their emotions, especially during the ‘deployment cycle’.

Lead Fixer Laurie Foxcroft (17) has a step-father who is in the Royal Navy. Working as a submariner, he can often be away for months at a time.

This causes Laurie constant worry and adds stress to her school, home, and social life.

Through a series of reconstructions – which are based on the experiences of the group – the film shows how armed forces deployment impacts the lives of young people, and how the cycle often seems to have no end.

Laurie explains: ‘Service children do have that added stress on them all the time as they are constantly worrying about the wellbeing of their relative, who may be a long way from home with little contact.

‘Also, with the deployment, the family may have to relocate. This causes a lot of stress in school as workloads may get higher, and you need to always make new friends.

‘We hope that with this film, we can show schools exactly what we deal with on a day-to-day basis so our situations are better understood.’

The film, which is intended for teachers, will be distributed by the group to local schools in an effort to promote better understanding of their message.

You can watch their Fixers film above.