Page 1: Pictures from the front line
Photographs captured by a soldier who risked life and limb on the front line in Afghanistan are set to help Britain’s war wounded.
Captain (Rtd) Alexander Allan, a former Grenadier Guards officer, captured the pictures in Helmand Province during a six-month tour in 2007.
The images have now been put together in a book called Afghanistan: A Tour of Duty, profits from which will go towards the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association.
‘Allan captured a number of unforgettable images of ordinary British soldiers sweltering in the heat, liaising with the locals, training the Afghan Army, fighting off Taliban attacks and taking casualties,’ said a spokesman for the publishers, ahead of the book’s launch on 29 October.
‘His feeling for his troops, the camaraderie, sacrifices and how they cope with what they have been sent to do, is evident from every image. The accompanying words are by the soldiers themselves’.
Commenting on his photos Allan, 29, said: ‘Some people write prose, some poems, others are raconteurs telling their stories as best they can to an eager audience. These pictures are my diary; take from them what you wish.’
Writing in his forward to the book former Head of the Army Sir Richard Dannatt said Allan’s photographs give an ‘authentic insight into the realities of life from the British soldier on Afghanistan’s front line.’
Dannatt added: ‘Along with service, sadly, comes sacrifice, and this photographic record does not flinch from the issue.’
Allan has dedicated his book to Adam ‘Goolie’ Ball who lost a leg while trying to save two Afghan colleagues injured by landmines.
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Picture credits: Alexander Allan
Page 2: More photos
Picture credits: Alexander Allan
