Remember Me is a project that I was honoured to be invited to take part in during the summer of 2022. Along with a portrait photographer, I was given exclusive access to fourteen of the care home residents from Upton Mill Care Home in Tetbury and presented with the opportunity to interview them. The objective? To capture their stories.

 

Ever since my Grandad died and I realised that I hadn’t asked him anything about his life and experiences, particularly during the war, it has been my passion to make sure that these stories don’t continue to go unheard. To preserve them for future generations so that we can not only keep their memories alive, but truly understand what made them tick, who they were, what their life was like and what sacrifices they made for us to live with the freedom we now have.

 

With the Remember Me project I was able to achieve something truly beautiful. A book written, curated, designed and crafted by me for begin a book, which now sits proudly on the shelves of all of those residents who took part along with their families, friends and wider community. For some, talking to me was the first time they’d really spoken about their life and history and, after I had re-written their words into what became their story, they felt humbled and amazed that it was about them. Many felt they didn’t have anything interesting to say, but when you read the book, you can see that nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Remember Me continues to be a project which is very dear to my heart and, having been featured on the BBC, it has also gained significant wider interest. To see the faces of those residents when they received their own copy of the book, to hear them talking to the others, to know how much this means and to see the tears in the eyes of all involved was a moment I will never forget.