Operation Herrick: Oral History Project Recruiting Now
A new project is exploring how Operation Herrick is remembered by those who served. We are currently recruiting male Armed Forces personnel to talk about their experiences.
Between 2010 and 2014, the War Story project at Imperial War Museums (IWM) worked with the UK Ministry of Defence and others to document the UK's involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan (Operation Herrick). Forty-seven oral history interviews were recorded with those deployed on Operation Herrick within weeks of their return. We are now recruiting participants to be interviewed in a similar way.
What is oral history?
Oral history is a technique used to capture your personal recollections through a planned recorded interview. The interview will take approximately 1-2 hours of your time. The interview will involve a chat about some of your memories and thoughts on the conflict in Afghanistan, and also use two images you may have if you are happy to discuss them.
Why?
The interviews will be used to create a new historical record so that Operation Herrick can be understood using soldiers' own words. No conflict has ever been photographed so well by those on the ground, so we are keen to use any photos you may have in addition to the conversation.
Am I eligible?
We are seeking male Armed Forces personnel and veterans who served on Operation Herrick. Particularly Herrick 11-16 which included deployments between October 2009 and April 2013. But, if you served on another Herrick and are interested, please get in touch as we have participants who served on Herricks 8-16 also.
Next steps?
Please email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information or to organise an informal chat about the research.
Together, we have an opportunity to create a new historical record with real impact.
The project is supervised by King’s College London (KCL) and Imperial War Museums (IWM) and funded by the Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2021 under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme. This project is jointly supervised by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Dr Howard Burdett, Dr Thomas Colley and Louise Skidmore.