Over the past 72 years, countless books have been written and films made that recount this period in our history, most typically focusing on the years between 1939 and 1945, when the world was at war. Each one has its own storyline, offering us the opportunity to engage with its content, often leaving the viewer with a sense of connectedness. As viewers, we find we can immerse ourselves as armchair heroes in the bloodiest of conflicts, attempting to feel and understand the individual contributions that were made alongside the enormity of the land, air, and sea operations taking place.
Disappearing Places is a body of photographic work that seeks to revisit many of the sites that were often hastily constructed to serve an essential need at the time. The work explores and documents the remains of UK installations — from structures such as the Valley Works to the lesser-known or forgotten airfields whose runways have long since been torn up and used as aggregate for building and repairing the ever‑expanding motorway networks that criss-cross this green and pleasant land. A coastline once littered with concrete bunkers and pillboxes is rapidly being taken to its watery grave by coastal erosion, and those that remain have become canvases for local graffiti artists, leaving their own signatures on these iconic concrete structures. Small communities from an ageing population continue to remember and honour the past as they welcome visitors to quiet villages that once bustled with activity.
The work aims to help us better appreciate and understand the extent of the sacrifices made by a country defending itself against invasion, for its land and its people, and the sacrifices made by so many in the hope of a brighter future.
Some of these sites may be familiar; others were kept secret for many years, only recently discovered or made accessible, while many more have now been recycled, repurposed, or have completely disappeared.