Working as a photojournalist, you sometimes find yourself covering stories the entire world is talking about and in 2003, the Iraq War was on everybody's minds. On a very hot summers day in August, I was sent on assignment to the Royal Navy Base in Portsmouth to photograph the return of HMS Liverpool, a type 42 destroyer. Liverpool (and her crew) had played a crucial role in the early stages of the Coalition assault on the AI Faw peninsula and was one of the last ships involved in the conflict to return home to Portsmouth.

Looking back at this photograph, I clearly remember the tense atmosphere as I stood waiting with the crew's families, friends, and loved ones on the side of the dock. And how everyone cheered and waved as the ship came into view and arrived home safe. It's one of those moments that is difficult to explain, and it still makes me smile to this day, some 19 years later.