A mission to interview and photograph WWII pilots before it's too late. And in his race against time, he has already interviewed and photographed 24 WWII pilots in the UK, the USA, Australia, Germany, the Czech Republic and South Africa.
John, himself being the son of an RAF fighter pilot, is a photographer (portrait and fine art) and a writer with a background in business who has traveled and lived in ten different countries. John was born in Wales and currently resides near Winchester in Hampshire.
John loves cooking and growing his own herbs and he has also planted over two thousand trees and shrubs.
John has been working on Combat Pilots of WWII since 2007. The project is based on the 'then and now' photo concept. According to John, "I photograph them as they are now in poses that are similar to photos of them taken during the war. In most cases you can see clearly that the old man and the young man are the same person."
He has already published an eBook (that is updated on monthly basis) and wants to publish the same as a hard-copy.
John is currently running a campaign on Kickstarter to crowd-fund his project as he wants to interview more pilots and publish the book.
To know more about John and his project, read on our exclusive interview with him.
Happy reading!
1. Hi John, Please introduce yourself to our readers. What inspired you to become a photographer?
Hello, my name is John Martin Bradley and I am a photographer. I have always been fascinated by photography and remember using my mother's camera when I was about six and being astonished by the images that came from that little black box. Nothing much has changed really.
2. Since as a child, you have travelled and lived in 10 different countries, how has that shaped your today?
My father was a pilot. Originally a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during WWII and then after the war flying out of places like Jersey in the Channel Islands, various parts of West Africa and then Malaysia. My childhood memories are full of warm happy thoughts of swimming in warm seas, snorkelling on coral reefs and interesting food - sometimes eaten from a banana leaf. I can still remember the smell of garlic and cooking kerosene. After Malaysia we moved to New Zealand and then Australia where I went to university.
So my early life was full of change and this set the tone for the rest of my life. Change is not something I fear. To me it is exciting and brings rewards. I wonder too if my fascination with recording things as images comes from having moved about so much and relying on the photographs to remind me of what is no more?
3. Tell us something about your Combat Pilots of WWII project. What prompted you to start working on the project and what is the reason behind opting for the 'then and now' concept?
After university I ended up in London. Met my wife and had children. Tragically at the age of 38 Harriet passed away from cancer. I remember one day, not long after she had gone, I was looking at a photo of my father. It shows him in his uniform the day he got his wings and I remember thinking that I must interview and photograph him before it was too late. I also remember thinking it would be nice to have a photo of him as he is now to put next to the image of him taken 70 years ago.
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| Johnny Bradley, Royal Air Force. Contemporary photo by John Martin Bradley. |
At the time I was hurting a great deal over the loss of my wife and I wanted to throw myself into something that would distract me. And this did it. As you say, it took me to six countries in put me in front of 24 extraordinary old men. Thankfully, I managed to get my dad before he passed away.
I try to photograph these old guys in a way that has them in a similar pose to photos of them when they were young men in the war. Very often you can see that the young man and old man are the same person and it makes for some very powerful images.
I love the continuity in these comparative images - I love the fact that you can see it is the same person in spite of the 70 year gap. I think we struggle to comprehend that these men went through hell. We somehow think that the men and women who went through all those terrible experiences back then are not the same parents and grandparents that we grew up with. To me these images help to bring home that these are the same people and they carry their scars with them in spite of the time that has passed.
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| Major Eric Johnson, South African Air Force. Contemporary photo by John Martin Bradley. |
4. Would you please share your experience photographing and interviewing the 24 WWII pilots from six different countries?
Meeting and photographing these pilots has been a great privilege and the most interesting thing I have ever done. I liked all of them very much and I was fascinated by the stories they told. Not just the combat stories, but the other stuff too.
I was fortunate to photograph some famous British pilots and two famous German pilots including the world's highest scoring surviving fighter pilot. I worked with an American photographer, Mike Schoenholtz, to capture all but one of America's surviving WWII aces who flew in the USAAF, US Navy and US Marine Corp - a very brave group of men indeed.
Most of them were intellectually as sharp as they were when they were young men. They made me laugh with their funny stories and cry when they told me about the losses they carried. They all talked about war as a complete waste. A complete waste of young men, civilians, lives, homes, and hopes. But for many of them, their experience as pilots in the war was the most exciting thing they ever did. And you could see it in their eyes when they talked about it.
To my surprise, many of the pilots I interviewed expressed deep anger or cried when I interviewed them. It seems that I was the first person who had talked in-depth to some of them about their war experiences.
Some of the pilots I met had machine gunned troops on the ground and each told me it was the most terrible job to do. One of the pilots, Eric Johnson who flew Kittyhawks in North Africa, told me in a very unsteady voice that he still has nightmares about it to this day.
Lots of the stories that came out were contrary to what you might expect. Like the British pilot Walter Morison who was taken prisoner, escaped and caught trying to start a plane to fly it to Sweden. The German sergeant who caught him thought it was very funny and chatted away to him like an old friend until the truck arrived to take him back to the PoW camp.
Something else that struck me was how they were all from the same mould. Be they British or German, American or Australian, they were cut from the same piece of cloth.
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| Brian Walley, Royal Air Force. Contemporary photo by John Martin Bradley. |
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| Colonel Gunter Seeger, Luftwaffe. Contemporary photo by John Martin Bradley. |
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| Colonel Art Jeffrey, US Army Air Force. Contemporary photo by Mike Schoenholtz. |
5. Tell us about the Kickstarter campaign that you're running and how are you planning to promote the book, once it's published? Are you also planning to publish the book digitally as well?
Kickstarter is great and when I reach my funding target, I'll use the money to photograph as many more pilots as I possibly can before it is too late and get the book printed and distributed through Unbound in the UK. Justin Pollard, one of the directors there, is a genius! If you are reading this I'd be delighted if you pledge to get the book in digital or hardcopy form. My Kickstarter project is
6. What do you enjoy the most - photography or writing?
I love both, but writing for me is hard work, whereas photography just flows and is a joy.
7. If you are given the option to be some superhero (or be given a magical power), who/what would it be and why?
Oh that's easy! A cure to cancer and all diseases that cause pain and suffering.
8. What sort of activities do you like to pursue in your free time? Which of these do you find to be most de-stressing?
I love taking photos. I take professional photos with my professional camera, but I'm also always taking snaps with my phone or iPad. I also like to cook and grow things in my garden. And I have two amazing kids to look after. And a husky. Not much spare time really ...
9. What are your future plans as a photographer? What are you planning to do once your Combat Pilot of WWII project is done?
Interesting question. I love photographing people in general, but I have a feeling that once I'm done with WWII I shall start on Cold War pilots and I've already photographed some who flew in Korea and Vietnam. I'm itching to meet a helicopter pilot who was on the sharp end of things in Vietnam. Having said that, there are no women pilots in my WWII book yet and I want to fix that - I've found out about some former Soviet women pilots who flew against the Germans and I would be thrilled to meet them … another reason I want the Kickstarter project to work.
10. What advice would you like to give to a budding and aspiring photographers?
Take some proper training. It will transform your work, but be careful you don't lose the joy of it by becoming too bogged down in the technical stuff. And if you are thinking of going pro, it's very very hard but don't give up. There are many ways to get where you are going. Just don't give up.
John, thanks for such an extensive interview. It was a great experience learning about you and your inspiring work. Wish you good luck!
To read more exclusive interviews of talented artists like John, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.
John, thanks for such an extensive interview. It was a great experience learning about you and your inspiring work. Wish you good luck!
To read more exclusive interviews of talented artists like John, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.
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