16-year-old Lexie’s has been praised for her bravery as her live BBC interview ensured the voice of bereaved military children was heard at Remembrance and demonstrated the need for support from Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
Lexie has been a member of Scotty’s for four years, following the death of her dad, Sergeant Oliver Pallett (RAF), by suicide in 2020. She is one of 53 members of Scotty’s who spent Remembrance weekend in London. They were guests at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance and marched past the Cenotaph at the National Service of Remembrance in memory of their heroes. The group was recognisable in their black and yellow scarves which they wore to show solidarity.
On Remembrance Sunday, Lexie took on an important role as she became a spokesperson for the charity, alongside Scotty’s founder Nikki Scott. Lexie completed a number of interviews with media and she was keen to spread the word of the importance of Remembrance and how much Scotty’s means to her.
During the interview with Sarah Campbell for BBC Breakfast, Lexie said:
“It means so much to be here to honour my dad and to know that everyone here is not only here to honour my dad but every service member that has either fought, still serving or who has died.”
When asked how Scotty’s has helped her, Lexie said:
“The charity has helped me so much. With the activity days I’ve met so many children that understand what I’m going through, and I don’t have to tell them, they just know. She continued: “I don’t think I’d be here today if it wasn’t for Scotty’s. They mean so much to me.”
You can watch the full interview HERE.
Nikki said of Lexie’s important role:
“Lexie is so brave, and she did such an incredible job of ensuring that the public remember that children are still impacted today by sacrifices made by service men and women. It’s not easy to be interviewed live on TV, particularly on an emotional day, but Lexie was outstanding. She is a member of Scotty’s Council, which is a group of young people with lived experience who represent the charity. We worked closely with Lexie and her family ahead of Remembrance weekend to ensure she was well prepared for the interviews, and our team will continue to ensure she feels supported.”
Duty of care towards bereaved families is at the forefront of everything Scotty’s does. It’s an honour for Scotty’s to be able to invite their members to London over the Remembrance weekend, but the families are all there remembering a loved one who has died, so it’s vital that measures are put in place before, during and after the weekend to support them.
Talking about the level of detail that goes into Remembrance, Nikki said:
“It’s been great to work so closely with the Royal British Legion both in the lead up to and over Remembrance weekend, to ensure bereaved military children know they are remembered. We worked with the RBL and BBC to find families to take part in the Festival of Remembrance and were also involved early on with how content might affect bereaved families. I was backstage throughout and was able to offer support and guidance when it was needed. We were also able to brief our Scotty families on what to expect, before they sat and watched in the audience, giving them time to emotionally prepare.”
Nikki continued:
“The whole weekend is very special for families supported by Scotty’s. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback from them. We know it can bring emotions to the forefront though, so our support team are working hard to check in with families and offer follow up support where it’s needed. I’m really proud of the whole team at Scotty’s for ensuring our members are well looked after, and special thanks to Lexie for flying the flag for us!”
So far this year, Scotty’s has supported 725 bereaved military children and young people, with a goal to be supporting over 1000 bereaved military children and young people annually by 2030. Scotty’s estimates that around 2,100 children each year are newly bereaved of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. Estimates draw on reliable national datasets including the 2021 Census, ONS datasets and MoD data.
To find out more about Scotty’s Little Soldiers, go to https://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/
