Awards Ceremonies — Never Such Innocence

The Awards Ceremony for our International Competition is always an occasion to remember. We pull out all the stops to ensure our competition winners are recognised for their hard work and extraordinary creative talents. Previous Awards Ceremonies have been held at The Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, the House of Lords, and a City Law firm.

We have welcomed some amazing VIPs including Imam Asim Hafiz, Islamic Advisor to the Military of Defence; Rt Hon. Earl Howe, Minister of State for Defence; Seema Kennedy MP, the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary; General Sir Gordon Messenger, Vice Chief of Defence Staff; Sir Ken Olisa, Lord Lieutenant of London; and Air Vice Marshal Mike Wigston, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.

Our Awards Ceremonies are international affairs, with representatives of High Commissions and Embassies attending to congratulate young people from all over the world.

2017/18 Awards Ceremony

This was our largest ceremony since the competition began. After receiving more than 7,000 entries to the poetry, art, and song competition we awarded more prize positions than ever before and were delighted to welcome some very special guests...

Read more here

2016/17 Awards Ceremony

The 2016/17 Awards Ceremony took place on the sunny afternoon of Thursday 25th May 2017 at The Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks.

Children travelled to the event from all over the world, including first place winner, Leong Tong Yan, who flew to London all the way from Malaysia to collect her prize...

Read more here

2015/16 Awards Ceremony

We held the 2015/16 Awards Ceremony at the House of Lords to celebrate the winners of the competition.

We successfully engaged over 1,600 children and young people from more than 100 schools in commemorating the First World War through poetry and art.

Read more here

2014 Awards Ceremony

The Awards Ceremony for the 2014 Pilot Competition was generously hosted by law firm Jones Day in their auditorium. We were thrilled by how many of our winners had made the journey to London from all over the country in order to celebrate their work.

Read more here

Never Such Innocence

Never Such Innocence is a registered charity (number 1156148) in England and Wales and is a unique project fitting into the wider series of 2014-2018 centenary activities. Our aim is to ensure young people nationally are inspired, informed and included in the centenary activities.

The charity takes its name from Philip Larkin’s famous poem MCMXIV, which reflects on the changes caused by the First World War. The driving force behind Never Such Innocence is Lady Lucy French, great-granddaughter of Field Marshal Sir John French who commanded the British Expeditionary Forces from 1914-15.

The launch of Never Such Innocence was kindly hosted at Australia House in May 2014 with a gala dinner and theatrical performance, blending poetry, prose and music from the Great War, compiled by Dr Martin Stephen. Since our inception we have been dedicated to engaging the nation’s children in the First World War centenary through learning, poetry, art and music.

T: 0207 836 2603
11 Slingsby Place, London,
WC2E 9AB

Never Such Innocence.
Registered Charity Number 1156148 Company Number 8680319

Halfway through the Month of the Military Child! Have you been signing Dandelions, written by our @voafcc This catchy song would be great to sing in the classroom or as part of an assembly. Sheet Music, lyrics and backing tracks can be found on our website! Check out our link tree! #motmc @royalbritishlegion @armybenevolentfund @armyfamiliesfederation @navalfamfed @raffamsfed

The @voafcc is very excited about something special happening at the end of the month as part of the @celebratingforcesfamilies awards!

Calling at poets and artists! We look forward to seeing your entries into our Month of the Military Child Competition! This year’s theme is: Life as a Dandelion. Entries are welcome from tri-service children 6 to 18 years old! Click the link in our bio to learn more! #motmc @royalbritishlegion @armybenevolentfund @armyfamiliesfederation @navalfamfed @raffamsfed

It is finally here! Month of the Military Child! We have three fun ways to celebrate! Click the link in our link tree to get your free resources! #motmc @royalbritishlegion @armybenevolentfund @raffamsfed @navalfamfed @armyfamiliesfederation