Hidden family tragedy behind schoolgirl's smile and her Remembrance Day promise
As the nation commemorates its war dead this weekend, brave teen Hannah Strachan will be among those taking part in the Remembrance Day march to the Cenotaph.
Tragically, the 15-year-old never got the chance to meet her soldier dad. Born two weeks after Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe left for Afghanistan in March 2008, she was just three months old when he was killed in action. The dedicated Royal Army Veterinary Corps soldier had been set to fly home in the July after his tour ended – but selflessly stayed on a little longer as no one was available to replace him.
Two days after he was due to return, the search dog handler and dog Sasha died while defending Helmand river valley and Army base from the Taliban. Today, Hannah will honour his memory as she and mum Helen Strachan join the Remembrance Day march in London and the National Service of Remembrance.
Hannah (centre-right, second row) with Scotty’s Little Soldiers at Remembrance Day in 2021 (PAUL TIBBS)Hannah says: “I feel really honoured to be going on the march. I do feel grateful that my dad won’t be forgotten. I’ve grown up without him and seeing my friends and their dads, that connection they have with them… it’s hard.” Before Kenneth left for Afghanistan, he won a Care Bear cuddly toy for his daughter – a teddy Hannah still cherishes today.
Helen says: “I was pregnant when Kenneth won this bear and it’s hard to believe Hannah is now nearly 16, and a carbon copy of her dad. She’s so like him. There are facial expressions, like this grin she’s got, and a way she sometimes looks at me. It’s uncanny. And he’d be really proud of her, of how she is.”
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After Hannah was born, Helen videocalled Kenneth so he could see and hear his baby daughter while they counted down the days until he could return to them. She recalls: “When I spoke to him she would be in the background gurgling or crying. At the time, those memories weren’t special because I was waiting for him to come home, but they become special memories when they’re all you have.
LCpl Rowe in Afghanistan (Daily Mirror)“You never imagine you are going to be in this position – you never think it’s going to be your loved one killed in action.” Helen and Hannah keep Kenneth’s memory alive by talking about him and looking at precious photos. Hannah has had to discover what kind of man he was through speaking to those who knew him.
Helen says: “Hannah has grown up without knowing her dad, knowing everything from other people’s memories and photos. I can see her having those feelings. I don’t know how she has done it. He was so dedicated. He stayed when he should have come home. To be that selfless... I think that’s what Hannah has learned about him, that he would do anything for anyone else.”
On today’s march, Hannah will proudly wear yellow and black, the colours of charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers, as she is joined by other youngsters who also lost a serving parent. Hannah was one of the first members of the charity, which Nikki Scott set up to support bereaved military children and young people up to 25 in memory of her husband Corporal Lee Scott, who was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2009. To Hannah and Helen, from Newcastle, that support has meant the world.
Hannah with with mother Helen (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Hannah says: “I’ve made friends through the charity that I speak to all the time. I’ve been to Christmas parties and on breaks with other members to Center Parcs. They’ve helped me create fun new memories that I still laugh and talk about now.”
Helen adds: “It also gives us that sense of connection and makes us still feel part of the military family – even though we no longer have any connection to the Army. On Remembrance Day, we come together with the other families and you’re all having the same feelings. You’re proud people have come together to remember, proud of what your loved ones did and grateful that won’t be forgotten. But it is also hard, so it’s nice to be with people who understand.”
* To find out more about the charity, visit scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk
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