People Who Escaped Death and Their External Scars

People often say that every scar tells a story, what are the stories behind the images you captured?

Emily Goddard: The stories behind these scars are widely varied. For instance, Ben, who had the frontal lobe lobectomy, developed a deadly brain infection after having sinusitis, Gezz battled testicular cancer and thought it had gone before being told it had spread to his stomach – all this had happened by the time he was just 31. Most dramatically, Jamie, a private in the Parachute Regiment, basically was burned alive to within an inch of his life in an aircraft fire. He was flying solo, had no parachute and knew his only chance of making it out of there meant slowly lowering what was a fireball of a plane and jumping out when he was 15ft above ground and at a speed of 30 knots. He suffered 63 per cent burns to his body and was given a five per cent chance of survival by doctors in the US where the accident happened (in Florida). He spent six months in a drug-induced coma and has since had more than 55 operations. Following on from this he has completed marathons, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, cycled across the US and completed countless expeditions across the globe. He also took part in the first Invictus Games in London. Mike, meanwhile, had a serious moped crash and was not expected to recover.

Scars are quite personal and a lot of people have hang-ups about certain scars they have. Was it difficult getting people to bare all?

Emily Goddard: I am particularly aware of this and feel truly grateful that these people let me shoot them at what can only be their most vulnerable. Taking off your t-shirt in front of the camera would most likely feel intrusive even for people who don’t have scars. I am very lucky to have found people who were all exceptionally open, willing to talk at length about some harrowing experiences and be photographed. I hope the photos do them justice.

There’s a certain vulnerability to exposing your body and your scars yet the people in your photos do not look uncomfortable or defeated. Does the strength in the photos reflect their feelings towards their injuries now?

Emily Goddard: I don’t think for a second that it could have been easy for these people to not only show me everything but also let me record it visually in a permanent way. I hope I made them feel comfortable. I think it also just goes to further underline the bravery of them all. They most certainly don’t feel like victims, more warriors who have won the most challenging battle of all. I believe their strength really shines through. I particularly love the look of dogged determination on Gezz’s face; it highlights his strength of character. He smiled an awful lot when we met for someone who had been dealt what could be considered as a really bad fortune and particularly considering he was only just six weeks post-surgery. He was given the all-clear days after I took that photo.