Leadership Likes: Mrs Sophie Bradshaw

When I was about eleven, I went out with my uncle in his car. I remember laughing and asking him what he was doing when, before unlocking it, he lay on his stomach on my grandmother’s drive and looked underneath. I do not recall thirty years later how he worded his answer but I do remember that it was not until many years later that the weight of his answer hit home. As an officer in the British Army, serving in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, my uncle checked for explosive devices under his car every time he got into it. And I like to think that he did a really good check when he was taking his niece somewhere! I still have the letters he wrote me, on their blue airmail paper, while he was away.

By the time my brother, a helicopter pilot, was deployed, technology had moved on and we could email him. I am not sure the speed of email contact was always a good thing. I remember sitting with my mother after the news of a helicopter crash was broken by the BBC for hours while she waited to hear from him. It was a long wait and there are only so many times you can reassure someone that, in this case, no news is good news.

When a few years later my sister’s husband was on deployment she joined the Military Wives Choir on her base. Founded in 2010, there are now Military Wives Choirs on hundreds of British military bases all over the world and they are currently, like the rest of us, finding ways to meet up and sing virtually. The positive effects of singing are many, as Mr Suranyi, Dr Purvis and Mrs Webb often remind us. However, this choir is about so much more than singing. It is a community of women who understand each other’s struggles because they have been there too. It is a choir and support group all in one.

So on Wednesday when our whole school community stood in silence in our grounds, I remembered those who fought and still fight to protect the freedoms we enjoy. But this weekend I plan to watch Military Wives and marvel at the power of community and remember that for every man or woman who serves their country, there is a family at home worrying about them.

I will leave you with some quotes from our Junior School pupils as well as a list of support groups, like the Military Wives Choir, where people can find support from people who understand their struggles. We are Stronger Together.

‘ It is important to remember those who fought in the war because they risked their lives for our freedom and so many of them died doing so.’

‘Life goes past quickly, so we have this day to remember what came before.’

‘We should remember them to prevent us making the same mistakes in the future.’

Support Groups

https://giveusashout.org/

https://www.actionforcarers.org.uk/events/

https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/#

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/parent-to-parent

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-services/online-groups

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/local-minds/

https://www.refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/

Mrs Sophie Bradshaw

Deputy Head (Sixth Form and Operations)