Matthew Elliott

I met a young Mr Marlabone on the platform at Lympstone (Commando Training Centre Royal Marines) and documented stages of his transformation from civillian to Royal Marine, a process which takes over 32 weeks of the most demanding military training anywhere in the world. On that day 30 recruits arrived and only 8 of them completed training. Marlabone was one of them. Training hasn't changed since I was a young recruit...the pain is still there. 

As part of my recent BA (Hons) Photography final major project I produced a series of portaits supported by a multimedia production centering around the issue of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The concept was one of awreness and the wider issues of the illness. https://vimeo.com/94650463  This work will be shown at Free Range London at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. Private view 19th June 5-9pm Public 20th-23rd June   

Royal Marines Training is the toughest and longest in the Western world. The concept was to show, through a dynamic range of images, the journey a recruit takes to earn the coveted green beret. The Royal Marines’ see this as ‘a state of mind’, no amount of physical fitness will see you through alone. My intent was to show the human element through a mixed range of emotions at various stages of training.