advertisement
Exhibition in honour of Aldershot veterans
By Jack SommersJune 26, 2009
AN exhibition about the lives and service of three former soldiers from Aldershot is bound for the Imperial War Museum.
The show comprises of audio interviews and photos of them in the style of military portraits, normally reserved for senior officers and generals, but these men did not have the kind of military careers the public tends to celebrate.
Jim Street, Duncan “Duke” Allan and Harry Corbett – all regulars at the Trafalgar Inn in Short Street, Aldershot – struggled to adjust to life outside the army after serving tours in Northern Ireland and the Falklands War.
Emily Harris, who put the project together, decided she wanted to do a piece of coursework in her photography degree on something related to the lives of people from the army.
She grew up near Colchester, Essex, the home of the Paras since they left Aldershot in 2000. She moved to Farnham to begin her degree at the University for the Creative Arts, and first went into “the Traf” a few months ago.
The pub is well known for its connection with the army. Its leaseholder Gary Grant, a former Para himself, described the pub as “a Mecca” for ex-service personnel.
Miss Harris made several visits and worked behind the bar a couple of times to get to know the regulars.
She said: “I didn’t want to just get in and get out once I was finished.
“I didn’t want to sensationalise it. I wanted to get to know them enough so they would trust me with their stories.”
While she took the photos of the three veterans, she conducted interviews with them about their time in the army, which were played at the exhibition over headphones.
All three served in Northern Ireland. Mr Allan was at Warrenpoint when two IRA bombs killed 18 British soldiers, the army’s biggest single loss of during “the Troubles”.
Mr Allan and Mr Street were at the battle of Goose Green in the Falklands War, where 17 Paras were killed.
Minutes after battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel H. Jones was killed, Mr Street was wounded, effectively ending his military career.
The exhibition – called Jim, Duke and Harry – was first displayed at the university last month.
It had another showing in London and the Imperial War Museum is now hoping to display it.
The museum is also sponsoring Miss Harris to broaden the study across the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and other generations.
Miss Harris said that the project is on hold at the moment while she considers what she wants to do after graduating.
Milos Stankovic MBE, a former major in the Paras who served in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, was in the pub the first time Miss Harris went there.
He said: “None of us said to them (the veterans) ‘you have got to speak to Emily’.
“She’s managed to get into a very closed world and gain the trust of these guys.”
He said she handled sensitively the issue of former soldiers and their struggles, which he called a “political hot potato”.
The Ministry of Defence has been accused of failing veterans in the past.
It is investing more in mental health support as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mean there could be a new generation of people needing help.
Mr Stankovic recently founded the Braveheart Programme, an organisation based at the Trafalgar that aims to help people readjust to civilian life after serving in the armed forces.
The aim of the programme, which is hoping to be given charitable status by the end of a month, is to provide tailored coaching to veterans.
This sort of coaching is popular among corporate clients and is beyond the price range of most veterans. For more information about the programme visit www.braveheartprogramme.org
Browse Sections
