The moment when a four-year-old girl was reunited with her father has been captured as part of a national charity calendar, to shine a light on the unique experiences of military children.

Elsie Bushby from Watton is one of more than 100 children who have been chosen to feature in the Little Troopers ‘Through Our Eyes’ 2021 calendar.

In the picture which will appear in the calendar, Elsie is seen welcoming her Dad home, Dean Bushby, 37, after a four-month deployment back in August.

Elsie’s mum, Amy Bushby, 31, said: “We are thrilled Elsie’s photo has been chosen. We are sure lots of forces families will relate to the image and that precious first encounter after separation.

“Deployments are never easy, and I don’t feel they get any easier but this felt like one of the longest and hardest deployments we have been through as a family, primarily because of lockdown.

“We couldn’t be happier to be a family again. Elsie was so excited to be reunited with Daddy and it was a wonderful moment that we’ll never forget and we’re glad we captured it.

“Our thoughts go out to all the families who are separated from their loved ones during these uncertain times?”

Elsie’s photo will appear alongside other heart-warming photos and stories of real-life military children as seen through their eyes.

The calendar also includes a monthly positive message from a celebrity who has either served in the military or grown-up as a military child.

Celebrities featured include Mark Ormrod MBE, Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes, Jordan North, Joanna Lumley and Andy McNab.

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: “2020 has been a challenging year for children generally, but lots military children have carried extra weight on their shoulders due to cancelled postings, extended deployments and other pressures.

“Elsie’s photo and the other images in the calendar really capture some of these moments and we hope that by sharing these stories, other military children will see that there are lots of Little Troopers in the world who share similar experiences and are part of this very special community of amazing and resilient young people.”

The Little Troopers 2021 calendar is now on sale with all proceeds helping Little Troopers to continue providing fundamental resources and initiatives to support military children.

For more information on how you can support the charity visit their site here, https://www.littletroopers.net/.