The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fife soldier Lt Col Jo Young is one of the stars of an exhibition at the Fringe showcasing the work of portrait photographer Wolf James.
FRINGE: Festival exhibition challenges perception that soldiers are always men
A St Andrews graduate is among the servicewomen being celebrated during a portrait exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Jo Young, who has served as an adjutant in Afghanistan, is among the women featured in the Live Equal exhibition, which is challenging the perception that soldiers are always men.
“I hope people look at these photos and see proud, happy and highly individualwomenbeyondtheuniforms,” said Jo, who is commanding officer of 167 Catering Support Regiment.
The exhibition is the work of celebrity photographer Wolf James and is part of the Army at the Fringe event taking place at the Hepburn House Reserve Centre.
After graduating from St Andrews, Jo went to Sandhurst for officer training and later served for several years in Scotland.
As wellas seeing service as an adjutant in Afghanistan, she now has 250 soldiers under her command – people who do everything from feeding troops in the field, and in barracks, through to preparing banquets for royalty and foreign dignitaries.
Jo confessed that she became interested in joining the Army while watching the ITV programme Soldier Soldier as a teenager.
She said: “My most significant times in the Army have been deploying on exercises and operations around the world, particularly living for months under canvas on the Canadian prairie and making a home of Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
“I worked as the Army’s arts engagement officer for two years.
“My responsibilities involved finding ways to engage the Army with wider society through arts projects including dance, poetry, theatre, photography and music. It was the most interesting and eye-opening job I have had.”
The project was set up by Lila Palmer, international soprano and librettist, to challenge the perception that soldiers are men and raise awareness that women now serve in every imaginable role in the Army.
Palmer came up with the idea for the exhibition while doing the research for Dead Equal, a new opera about female soldiers, which is a centrepiece of this year’s Army at the Fringe programme.
The exhibition, coinciding with the show, opens today.