Inspired by the British Military’s genuine range of toy soldiers and military Lego called HM Armed Forces, aimed at ages 5+.

The UK is one of only 19 countries worldwide, and the only country in NATO or Europe, that still recruits 16 year olds into it’s armed forces. Children can apply to join the British Army at just 15 years + 7 months, with parental consent. And kids who join up between then and 16 + 3 months can only join frontline combat roles such as infantry, armour or artillery.

This is why child recruits to the British Army have overwhelmingly worse outcomes in terms of PTSD, death and permanent disability from their time in the military. They also have to serve for six years compared to four years for adult recruits. The Ministry of Defence stated in a report that needed to recruit children into the military “before they have made other lifestyle choices” i.e before they have moved out of home and got to experience some freedom.

The military also takes advantage of young people who need to leave their parental home early, whether due to circumstances of poverty, parental addiction or abuse. British military recruiters are little more than state-sanctioned groomers preying on the vulnerable and radicalising them to violence.

I also looked at the issue of child recruitment in the British Army in my Action Man: Battlefield Casualties toys, which I turned into a film with director Price James and voiced by Matt Berry (watch it below).

There is also a script for a short film version of Thomas the Tank sitting in my drawer but we haven’t been able to find the type of funding it would need to be produced. If you would like to see that happen and have too much money please get in touch!

Posters and prints of the above are available in the shop.