Behind The Lines

When you meet ex-service men and women face-to-face, and they begin to weep with gratitude for the support they’ve received, you’ll do anything and give anything to keep that support coming. Whilst photographing individuals for this exhibition, we had the privilege to witness and feel first-hand the impact of the work Wigan Borough Armed Forces HQ does.

That inspiring work led us to create Behind The Lines, a gallery of 75 individuals, each of them prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be free. The aim is to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day and raise £5,000 for Wigan Borough Armed Forces HQ, that’s just £67 per veteran. Discover the person behind the line ‘veteran’ and please donate what you can to help give them the quality of life that they made possible for us: JUST GIVING PAGE

Alan Lewis

Paul Watson

joined 1st Battalion Irish Guards in 1996. He deployed on 6 operational tours throughout a 20-year career including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. It was in Afghanistan where he suffered a spinal injury and was subsequently medically discharged in 2015. He lives in Atherton with his wife and daughter.

Shane Pilkington

RO1, Royal Navy 1990-2006

They answered the call to arms, so that we may walk free.

JUST GIVING PAGE

I want to thank the following people for the help that they gave me with this project.

Ken Orton, for his support on every stage of this project, from organising the veterans for the photo sessions up to gathering the information about the veterans for finalising the project.

Laura Ingham, and all Wigan borough armed forces staff for support during the project, organising photo-shoots and helping on every stage of the project.

Paul Watson, for supporting and organising the photo-shoot in his region.

Bryan Hall, for supporting and organising the photo-shoot in his region.

John Gregory, Linkedin for the copyrighting for this web project and social media posts.