In March 2003, a US-led coalition of forces invaded Iraq, signalling the start of what became known as the Iraq War. The invasion consisted of three weeks of major combat operations which concluded with the government of Saddam Hussein being deposed and the capture of the Iraqi capital Baghdad by American forces.
Guardian front page 21 March 2003 following the invasion of Iraq
The Guardian newspaper placed reporters and photographers in the area to cover the run up to the conflict. A small number of Guardian staff were embedded with the military forces, including the British army and navy, whilst others travelled independently. Photographer Sean Smith, best known for his coverage of conflicts, was based in Baghdad, while reporter James Meek was based in Kuwait, near the Iraqi border, before the outbreak of war.
However not all war correspondents were based in the Middle East. Julian Borger, the Guardian Washington correspondent, reported from the American headquarters of the US department of defense, the Pentagon, where he attended regular briefings from the US military.
Iraq War Voices
In the aftermath of the invasion the Guardian carried out a series of interviews with staff who covered the start of the war for the newspaper, including both reporters and photographers. These interviews form a series entitled Iraq War Voices and are an important part of Guardian News & Media Archive's oral history collections.
Topics covered by the interviews include the compulsory training undertaken by journalists before departure, the equipment used in the field to allow them to report back to the Guardian offices in London, and their interaction with the local people and the armed forces. Interviewees also offer their personal reflections on the war.
Preparing to enter a warzone
Reporting from the front line of war holds obvious dangers, and a number of journalists and photographers have lost their lives reporting from war zones. To prepare staff as much as possible in advance of the Iraq War, the Guardian provided training courses for all of its war correspondents run by former members of the armed forces. The aim of the training was to thoroughly prepare them for work in hazardous environments. During training staff were taught essential survival skills such as intensive first aid, the importance of rationing and how to put up a tent. They also attended more in depth courses of conflict training which taught them how to clear landmines, deal with kidnap situations, and prepare for a chemical warfare attack.
In the following 2 minute audio extract from her oral history interview, former Guardian journalist Audrey Gillan details the training provided to war reporters by the newspaper.
Audrey Gillan discusses her war coverage training
Reporting from the frontline
Journalists who were embedded with the forces had to accept certain terms including restrictions on reporting. They were escorted by officers and were required to make reports available to media operations staff in the military before being sent for publication. They were not to compromise security by revealing details, such as locations, which might endanger the troops they were embedded with. Despite these restrictions, being embedded allowed journalists unique access to members of the armed forces. They lived and worked alongside the armed forces, sharing their food, accommodation and basic domestic chores, and at times came under the same fire.
Audrey Gillan was embedded with the Household Cavalry during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and blogged about her experiences. Being embedded allowed Gillan to gain an insight into the daily routine of the soldiers and in 2003 she was named the What the Papers Say Foreign Correspondent of the Year for her writing about the war and the soldiers fighting it.
Iraq War diary entry by Audrey Gillan, The Guardian, 4 April 2003
Technology and reporting
The physical act of reporting from conflict zones has changed dramatically for reporters as technology has advanced over the past century. During the Second Boer War (1899-1902) articles took three to four weeks to arrive, meaning that readers had to wait to read a full account of the action, and even during the Falklands conflict in the early 1980s there were long delays between the action and reports reaching Britain.
Today news services offer 24-hour rolling news, and newspaper websites such as theguardian.com can be updated instantly. However, keeping up with the demand for news can be problematic when attempting to file reports in a war zone. In his interview Jamie Wilson discussed the difficulties he faced whilst on board the naval ship HMS Marlborough whilst embedded with the British navy. When attempting to file his article with the Guardian offices in London, Wilson found that the ship's email system was down. He resorted to the use of a fax machine, which he disovered no one on board knew how to use. Eventually Wilson dictated his copy over the ship's phone, all 2000 words, taking over an hour. In all, he estimates it took eight hours from the point he finished writing, to successfully getting the copy to the Guardian.
Consulting the oral history collection
The oral history collection can be consulted in the GNM Archive reading room by appointment. More information about the recordings can be found by searching our online catalogue.
Past teaching resources of the month from the GNM Archive
More teaching resources can be found on our resources for teachers page.