Credits
Photographs
As part of the Soldiers in Mind service, ‘combat teddy bears’ were specially made for bereaved military families, using material from the military uniform of their loved one. Each of the bears are hand-stitched and display the name, rank, service number and operational tour on which their loved one lost their life as well as a personalised embroidered message on the bear’s paws, chosen by the family.
Kind permission was given by Sally, mother of Private Eleanor Dlugosz who died in Iraq in 2007, aged 19, whilst serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps, to photograph the combat teddy bears created in her memory.
The indigenous people from the Highlands in Guatemala created Worry Dolls many generations ago as a remedy for worrying. According to legend, children tell their worries to the Worry Dolls, placing them under their pillow when they go to bed at night. By morning the dolls have gifted them with the wisdom and knowledge to eliminate their worries. In the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, Worry Dolls were used extensively when working therapeutically with children to provide them with a way of expressing their fears and anxieties and to seek reassurance and support.
Photograph by Susan Schulman, an award-winning photojournalist documenting the human impact of the war in Ukraine.
Taken in Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv, in October 2025, this image shows a mural painted on the ruins of a building destroyed during the early stages of Russia’s 2022 invasion. The artwork stands as a powerful symbol of both the devastation caused by the conflict and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Hostomel is one of the so-called “Hero Villages”, recognised for its role in resisting Russian advances towards Kyiv.
Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of Susan Schulman.
Photograph by Susan Schulman, an award-winning photojournalist documenting the human impact of the war in Ukraine.
This image captures the aftermath of a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district on 23rd June 2025. The attack caused the collapse of multiple floors of the building, resulting in the deaths of nine residents, including an 11-year-old child.
Photograph reproduced with kind permission of Susan Schulman.
Illustrations:
Illustrations by Merlin Evans. Merlin is a medical illustrator with a unique gift of ‘hearing’ in imagery, allowing her to capture through live scribing what she terms as ‘the beauty, pain and complexity that is involved in our journey of being human’.
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