WW1 exhibition opening at the Thackray Museum, Leeds

On Wednesday I was asked to photograph the opening of a new world war one exhibition at the Thackray Museum in Leeds. I was there to photograph the V.I.P guests, one of which included Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry. On 1 May 2004 in Iraq, Beharry was driving a Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle that was hit by multiple rocket propelled grenades. The platoon commander, the vehicle’s gunner and a number of other soldiers in the vehicle were injured. Beharry was forced to open his hatch to steer his vehicle, exposing his face and head to withering small arms fire. Beharry drove the crippled Warrior through the ambush, taking his own crew and leading five other Warriors to safety. He then extracted his wounded comrades from the vehicle, all the time exposed to further enemy fire. For these heroic actions Johnson was awarded the Victoria Cross. I met a truly inspirational bunch of people who have all fought for our country, here are some photographs from the day Find out more about the Thackray Museum here