Photography winners across Nottinghamshire have their work displayed at Newark’s Buttermarket at Pay It Forward exhibition
Photographers as young as five years old paid tribute to a member of their family at a moving exhibition honouring veterans.
The Pay It Forward exhibition,which was opened throughout November in Newark’s Buttermarket, celebrated and reflected on the stories of those who served in the Armed Forces.
It was a collaboration between Newark-based specialist car discount service Motorfinity, ex-Royal Air Force and photographer Paul Saxby, and Nottinghamshire County Council.
As part of the exhibition, visitors had the opportunity to take part in a competition to highlight those in their lives who served in the Armed Forces and tell their stories.
Photographers aged five and over were invited to pay tribute to a member of their community, by submitting their own photo with a 100-word backstory.
Four winners were then chosen to have their work displayed in a gallery alongside Paul Saxby’s photography.
Winners included Imogen Amies, aged seven, who took an image of her grandad; Megan Watson, aged 15, whose image was also of her grandad and Tia Cullen aged 16, who photographed her father.
A fourth winner was also chosen, from the Newark Patriotic Fund, a charity that Motorfinity works closely with.
The image, taken by Mac Mallard aged 79, titled In Conversation,was taken at the Newark Patriotic Fund’s breakfast club, and captures the essence of the club which supports veterans with conversation, camaraderie and care.
Tia Cullen, of Newark College, said: “My image, A Soldier’s Haunting, of my father, elicits a poignant atmosphere and a painful reminder of the losses during war.
“The message behind this capture is how today's soldiers are still affected by past wars and wars they have been involved with for example Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.
“I used a black and white filter to create a mournful tone and chose the location to be by a park, which is slightly visible in the background to represent the innocent lives taken by the world’s unresolved conflicts and the innocence of the soldiers being lost due to the horrors they face.”
Megan Watson of Outwood Academy Valley said: “This is my grandad, Dave. He joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1972 as a Control Equipment Technician — the electronics trade.
“He was responsible for restoring and repairing self-propelled artillery and weaponised infantry. Over his time in the army, he served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Denmark and Canada, and he left as a Sergeant in 1994, with two honour medals.
“He was kind enough to let me share his story and photo with you all so he and I both thank you for the opportunity.”
Imogen Amies of Robert Miles Primary School’s picture portrayed her grandad Andrew Amies, who lives in Balderton.
She said: “He served in the Royal Air Force from 1970 to 1993. He was awarded the Long Service Medal, the Falkland’s Medal and the Cold War Medal at this time.
“He received a commendation from the RAF in 1992. Some of the photos on the wall show my grandad receiving his Sergeant Stripes and medals, which are also proudly on display.
“The plane pictured was painted by his son, my Uncle Mike.
“I am proud of my grandad.”
Paul Saxby, a veteran himself, said he wanted to give back to the community by capturing veteran’s personalities and creating a platform to share people’s voices to evoke a feeling out of each visitor.
Daniel Briggs, Motorfinity chief executive, said: “The winners of our photography competition, alongside all the entries, showcase examples of ways we can honour the commitment and hard work of those in the Armed Forces, regardless of when they served.
“Every day at Motorfinity, we work closely with veterans as well as those currently serving and have the pleasure of getting to know so many of them and their stories.
“All the photographers within the competition, as well as our recent ‘Pay it Forward’ exhibition, help to tell these stories in a creative and commemorative way.”
