Surfing Tommies started me thinking about what we do with Surf Action and what our friends in California do with Operation Amped and the Naval Surf Clinic. Surfing may not heal, it may not be the final cure, but imagine even 90 odd years ago and soldiers returning from the trenches of France after witnessing the horrors and countless wasted lives, imagine then getting an old piece of wood and going surfing, using the ocean to momentarily forget the traumas of war. 90 years on the principle of surfing is still the same, its a shame we still have wars though. These portraits were taken at our second surf camp back in early 2010. These are Royal Marines Jason Hare (top), Ben McBean, Nicholas Gibbons, Danny Clavicoates, and Jonny Lineker, all injured in Afghanistan, all surfing tommies.
If anyone in Australia reads this and nows someone in the theatre, do all you can to get this play over there, many of the Cornish miners went of to OZ and this play just makes sense and will do to you. In October, myself and Simon Green (vet and photographer) are travelling to the Somme with the Army Benevolent Fund and the 'Wenches in Trenches'. We will be walking 22 miles of trenches in two days with 100 wives, widows, relatives and friends of serving and lost members of the forces. We'll be laying wreathes along the way and i shall be laying one at Vimy Ridge where my Great Uncle Harry Pierre fell serving with a Canadian Regiment (just found that one out, thanks to my Dad for letting me know, cheers Dad, also named Harry after my Great Uncle).
Myself and Simon will be filming and shooting stills for the ABF and hopefully see this in print by the end of the year. The past few days have been a little weird I can assure you and with a call from Sally at The Original Surfboard Company offering Surf Action branded belly boards, for our Surf Camps, the history is all there.
