Guardian journalists recently spent many hours interviewing troops from the Mercian regiment who only weeks earlier had been in one of the toughest battles the British have faced in Afghanistan. On a patrol at the end of their tour, they were ambushed by up to 100 heavily armed Taliban and lost Sergeant Craig Brelsford and Private Johan Botha.
Interviewing the men was a humbling experience. Their bravery and candor shines through Audrey Gillan's article for Weekend and the accompanying online feature on the Battle of Garmsir, which includes video interviews and interactive graphics that tell a narrative of the night.
Readers of the unofficial military website and talk forum Arrse picked up on the story and their reaction to it has been positive. Poster Garhwal writes:"I think that it's this type of reporting that is needed because it allows us, who really have no knowledge, a small glimpse of what is happening and shows us just how difficult the job of an "ordinary" soldier is. It's the sort of thing that should be on the beeb news at 10pm."
All the commenters are impressed by the bravery of the Mercians. One writes: "I read the article and couldn't finish it without tears streaming down my face ... my father, a veteran of the Angola war sat down with me and he to had glassy eyes ... Very often our families never understand why we do it and I imagine it's even more difficult for them to understand when we don't come home." Another says: "A huge Thank You to the guys who relived that so us lot in the comfortable world of civvyland could have a glimpse of their life out there."
At a time when the Ministry of Defence has been accused of being censorious, some posters asked how tightly monitored the material was by the MoD. The answer is that the MoD gave the Guardian almost totally free rein and access to speak to the troops. We are constantly trying to tell stories like this in the best way digitally (see earlier material on the Falklands conflict 25th anniversary last year and Declan Walsh's audio slideshows from Afghanistan). We hope to do many more similar projects in the future.
