SOME time during World War Two a battle-hardened American soldier stands to attention.

An image that might make the cover of Life magazine shows him gazing straight ahead yet simultaneously into his own soul.

The photo is among a collection showing all aspects of life for an infantryman during the brutal conflict, from grabbing a few moments of rest to storming an enemy position as shrapnel flies.

Only on closer inspection does the viewer notice that many of the subjects are a little older than the people usually seen in such images. Some also seem healthier and sturdier than we might have expected of men raised during the Great Depression.

In fact, the Americans are British, their battles are re-enactments and the images are the work of a Swindon man called Steve Dixon.

Steve, 34, is a re-enactor with a difference, opting not for the role of a soldier but for that of a photojournalist.

He only became a photographer fairly recently, and divides his time between building his freelance business and volunteering for a charity.

“It was in about 2008 or 2009. I just started taking photos on a standard mobile phone, and people I’d shown the images to said they were impressed.”

So impressed were they, in fact, that they suggested he take his talent further. Steve’s interest in photography soon came to rival another interest he’d had for much longer, and combining the two made perfect sense.

“My interest in the Second World War has been an ongoing thing ever since I was a child.

“I don’t know why, but it’s something I’ve always loved. I used to go out with my friends when I was a kid, and we used to run little kiddie convoys of army soldiers.

“We used to go around the woods at Tidworth and Ludgershall, where I used to live. We’d build little bases and play war games, as boys did then.

“You could go out and probably not come home until the lights came on. I have some good memories of those days.”

Steve fed his fascination with books, magazines, documentaries on TV and eventually video tapes and DVDs.

“The war correspondent thing only came about in September of 2013, so it’s very new to me. I was inspired by the men of the Screaming Eagles living history group. They’re mainly based in the South East - Guildford, Farnham, London, that sort of area.

“They came to a Blunsdon at War event. I took some photos of them, just as a member of the public, and after speaking to the captain he said to me, ‘If you’re interested we can get you into uniform. You can tag along with us, get behind the scenes, get some photos without the public being there, and basically follow us into battle.’”

Steve owns and sometimes carries vintage cameras such as his Graflex Speed Graphic, but takes his images using a digital SLR. So as not to compromise authenticity, he hides this beneath a scarf made from a fragment of genuine wartime camouflage-pattern parachute silk.

He added: “It’s keeping history alive and it’s making people realise that we should never, ever forget what happened during those years.”

Further information about Steve’s work can be found at www.facebook.com/clixonphotography2012 and clixonwartography.co.uk

 

Recalling the all time greats

STEVE’S great heroes among wartime photographers are Ernie Pyle and Robert Capa. 
He said: “As soon as I was invited to tag along with the Screaming Eagles I started doing my research into different photographers. 
“The main one, who I would personally say was the most famous of them all, was Ernie Pyle. He was actually killed toward the end of the Second World War. 
“It was his work and Robert Capa – he went into the invasion of Normandy and had to be dragged back on to the boat because it was so dangerous.” 
Ernie Pyle earned the respect of the ordinary troops he lived and worked among in various theatres of war. 
He died at 44 in 1945 when his jeep was attacked by a Japanese machine-gunner. 
The Americans placed a monument on the site, which still stands. 
Robert Capa was killed in 1954 while covering the Vietnamese rebellion against French colonists. 
He is best known for an iconic image of a Spanish Civil War soldier, seemingly taken at the moment of death. 
On D-Day - June 6, 1944 - he went ashore with American troops on Omaha Beach, the landing shown in the harrowing opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. 
Sadly, most of the images he captured were ruined by a processing error.