Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir (5)

Armed Forces childrens choir performs on Britain’s Got Talent

The Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir, a group of children from across the UK whose parents are currently serving or veterans, have made it to the Britain’s Got Talent semi-finals.

When a group of young singers aged 6 to 18-years-old applied to take part in one of the UK’s most successful talent shows, little did they know that they would end up making it through to the semi-finals.

The Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir is a group made up of 48 children (and growing) from across the UK whose parents currently serve or are veterans of the Armed Forces.

First formed in June 2021, it came about as a result of the Never Such Innocence Voices of Armed Forces Children project – a programme supported by the Royal British Legion which encourages children of service members to express what life is like for them through a range of activities including poetry, art, speech and song.

Capturing the nation’s hearts

The choir’s music reflects largely on service life, with a strong focus on what it’s like to have a parent serving in the Armed Forces.

Their original tracks, often written by the children themselves, have already reached great heights of success.

We sat down with a couple of the children who are part of the choir to talk about what it’s like having a parent in the Armed Forces, and to capture their thoughts and feelings about their Britain’s Got Talent experience.

Scarlet & Poppy ‘Popstar’, aged 10 and 7

“It’s hard when Daddy goes away because we love him a lot and it’s kind of hard not seeing him. It’s fun to have him around because he watches a lot of TV and he’s really funny” says Scarlet.

When their Dad, Ian, who serves in the Royal Corps of Army Music, is due to return their Mum,Kirsty, keeps it a secret to surprise the girls.

“It’s very exciting because Mummy always surprises us when he comes home, so we never know. And usually like we just see him in the house the next morning and we’re like “How did you get here!”” says Scarlet, with Poppy adding that it “makes my tummy feel like butterflies”.

Both the girls feel that while their Britain’s Got Talent experience has been “overwhelming, because of all the practices we have to do!” it has boosted their confidence and created wonderful friendships.

‘Popstar’ Poppy loves “when we have the solos, I actually enjoy the singing” with older sister Scarlet adding: “I feel a lot more confident because there’s a bunch of people whose fathers and mothers go away and knowing that they’re going through the same stuff as us is kind of helpful.”

Do they have a favourite judge? “I’ve met Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha, David Walliams. Amanda Holden is my favourite because she’s really pretty and she was really nice when I spoke to her” Scarlet tells us, whereas sister Poppy declares “I like Simon Cowell the best.”