Wednesday 21st July 2021
An anthem for Armed Forces children across the UK and around the world
- Service children record, Welcome Home, written by service children, for service children, with The Voice! finalist, Bethzienna Williams, at the world famous Abbey Road Studios
- The song was created by two children from Plymouth, with Royal Navy parents. The song won first place in the 9-11 age category in the Never Such Innocence (NSI) annual international song competition
- UK charity NSI invited service children to sing for Armed Forces Day – premiered song at the National Memorial Arboretum on June 26th
Never Such Innocence aims to amplify the voices of service children
28th June 2021, London – 20 tri-service children, ages 6-17, from Lossiemouth to Plymouth (and everywhere in between!) came to London on the 19th and 20th of June. They recorded the song, Welcome Home, at Abbey Road Studios with leading lights from the world of music. The song was arranged by Terry Devine-King, vocal arrangement by Ben Parry and produced by Andrew Sunnucks and Terry Devine-King. The weekend was filled with fun activities for the young people and rehearsals were held at the Guard’s Chapel ahead of the recording at Abbey Road.
How the song came about
Two Royal Navy service children, part of the Royal British Legion’s Military Kids Club, from Plymouth wrote a fantastic Tri-forces song for Armed Forces Day. The two young people (and the father of one of the children even joined in with his guitar!) participated in a four session workshop series, during the lockdown in February, with NSI song writer in residence Bethzienna (2019 The Voice! finalist). The song was awarded First Place in the NSI international competition, which received entries from 95 countries.
After a challenging year for all, Welcome Home conveys the spirit of community, family and the power of togetherness. Families making the journey to London have shared their moving stories of the last year – something so many families can identify with this year more than ever before.
The song premiered at the National Memorial Arboretum on 26th June for Armed Forces Day. Additionally, all service children were invited to sing the song for Armed Forces Day at their school, within their community, anywhere and everywhere!
Please find a link to the music video of Welcome Home. Video recorded and edited by SVJfilm.
To find out about upcoming creative arts opportunities for your children, please visit NSI’s Voices of Armed Forces Children webpage. The next online poetry workshop will be held on July 28th from 1600-1715 – email Katie at [email protected] to sign up.
Top image: Choir at the famed Abbey Road Crossing © Jenny Catlow Photography
