About the project

The 39-45 Portraits Project is my way of honouring the men and women who served in the Second World War, recording their faces and their stories so they're remembered and passed on.

It began at the start of 2019, when watching the Dad's Army film got me thinking about the real people behind those years and how much a proper portrait might mean to them and their families. A friend introduced me to the Oxfordshire Home Guard Living History Group, a Facebook group for Normandy veterans and their families led me to more, and the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans introduced me to many of the people you'll see here; once the first prints had been handed over, word of mouth did the rest.

Most of the portraits are made in the veterans' own homes, so I keep the kit simple: one light, a grey backdrop and the camera on a tripod. I stand beside the camera rather than behind it so we can chat, and I take no more than eight frames, because the visit matters far more than the photograph. A lot of the veterans became friends, and I've often gone back just to catch up.

In October 2019 the portraits went on show at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock, alongside recorded interviews and drawings children had made to say thank you.

It's entirely self-funded, and every portrait and interview is made with the same three aims: to honour, to remember and to educate.

Proud to be an ambassador for the Veterans Charity