Reading Force director Alison Baverstock receives MBE at Windsor Castle

Alison Baverstock, the author, publisher, academic and founder of charity Reading Force, has been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to military families in the recent King’s Birthday Honours list. She received the award at Windsor Castle from Prince William.

Baverstock is a veteran’s wife and mother of four and founded Reading Force in 2010, which she says “was very much based on personal experience. Our family had found that sharing books gave everyone something to think about in between phone calls, and to talk about when we had the chance to speak.”

The charity supports British tri-service military families and has circulated more than 250,000 reading scrapbooks to families worldwide. It has also set up a book clubs wing, with the aim of "fostering connections within the military community".

Hattie Gordon, who was taught by Baverstock while studying on the publishing master’s course at Kingston, has been with the project since it began. “I think the reason Reading Force has spread is that it’s a very simple idea that is easy to understand," she said. "So it works well across different locations and cultures. The issue of how you keep in touch with wider family when life is constantly changing is an ongoing one for the military community.”