Halfway through December I got called out to go up to Cumbria to cover the British Army's response to the flooding.
The 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's regiment elements of 21 and 22 Engineer regiment had been tasked with helping out in the local areas of Keswick, Carlisle, Appleby and Penrith.
I travelled up to Penrith to a Fire station wear the main headquarters for the military was based.
The first tasking there was to take over from another Army Phot, Cpl Pete Brown. He was on the A591 with The Royal Engineers whilst they cleared the road from the landslip caused by the heavy rainfall. They had been working through the day and were about to finish for the evening. Before I left I wanted to get some pictures of them working at night. Because of the road closure it was about a 45 min drive from the location we were at.
Engineers from 21 Engineer Regiment work into the night to clear the A591 in Cumbria.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
The location that we moved off from to the landslip site. Across the road from this pub was the hotel that the soldiers clearing the roads were staying at.
Engineers from 21 Engineer Regiment work into the night to clear the A591 in Cumbria.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
Engineers from 21 Engineer Regiment work into the night to clear the A591 in Cumbria.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
Engineers from 21 Engineer Regiment work into the night to clear the A591 in Cumbria.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
The Engineers at work clearing the road.
After getting these we headed back to the Fire station to see what was happening in the morning.
This day was to be a busy one! To start off with we went round with a few of the guys from 2 LANCS to go and visit the rural areas to see if anyone needed any help.
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Pictured: Soldiers from 2 LANCS speak to locals affected by the floods
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Pictured: Soldiers from 2 LANCS speak to locals affected by the floods
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Pictured: Cpl Joe Greenwood speaks to locals affected by the floods
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Pictured: Simon Jones shows Cpl Joe Greenwood the damage that the floods have caused to his driveway.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
Soldiers working with Cumbria County Council and other civilian agencies are now reaching out to the countyÕs rural communities affected by recent flooding.
After more than a week of helping with urgent tasks in urban centres like Carlisle, Keswick and Workington, personnel have now been asked to travel into more isolated areas of the Lake District.
The 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) has begun sending teams to settlements including St JohnÕs in the Vale, Castlerigg and Naddle to speak with those affected and assess any requests for assistance.
Pictured: Simon Jones shows Cpl Joe Greenwood the damage that the floods have caused to his driveway.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright 2015
This driveway to a farmers home had been destroyed by the heavy rainfall.
Moving back to Keswick for our next tasking we went to see some of the soldiers clearing out a school of all the mud and debris from the overflowing river nearby.
Toys strewn about the streets from the school
Our next task was to team up with a group of people from Team Rubicon and Serve On. These guys are disaster response teams that deploy all over the world. Groups of Muslims had come from all over the North of the UK to help out with the flooding.
We made our way down into Keswick town and started to work. I captured the shots below then slung my camera behind me and helped out with the guys on the ground. I believe that you get respected more if you get stuck in with everyone else rather than staying in the background taking pictures. I would feel the same if some guy was just stood there not helping out. I know I was there to capture all this but I got what I needed and got my hands dirty with the rest of them.
Team Rubicon and Serve On's HQ
This is how high the water level had risen in the houses.
Soldiers moving to help out clearing the rubbish.
This was a children's playground that had been destroyed. It had to be taken apart and taken to the road for disposal.
Islamic charities from across the North of England have joined soldiers to provide aid and assistance to the flooded towns and villages of Cumbria.
Volunteers and military personnel worked side by side in freezing temperatures and heavy rain, to clear a childrenÕs playground which had been destroyed in last weekÕs deluge.
In Keswick, a town which saw hundreds of properties flooded, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) have now been joined by representatives of at least four Islamic charities all working under the direction of civilian aid group Team Rubicon.
Groups including One Nation, The Ansaar, KumonyÕall and Food For Thought (Al Imdaad) have sent hundreds of volunteers to Cumbria to offer support and work with sister organisations and the military.
Pictured: Soldiers from 2 Lancs with members of One Nation UK and Kumon y'all help clear a children's playground in Keswick. The playground was completely destroyed by the flooding from Storm Desmond
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
It was great to see everyone working together. Things like this can help change perception of others.
Islamic charities from across the North of England have joined soldiers to provide aid and assistance to the flooded towns and villages of Cumbria.
Volunteers and military personnel worked side by side in freezing temperatures and heavy rain, to clear a childrenÕs playground which had been destroyed in last weekÕs deluge.
In Keswick, a town which saw hundreds of properties flooded, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) have now been joined by representatives of at least four Islamic charities all working under the direction of civilian aid group Team Rubicon.
Groups including One Nation, The Ansaar, KumonyÕall and Food For Thought (Al Imdaad) have sent hundreds of volunteers to Cumbria to offer support and work with sister organisations and the military.
Pictured: Soldiers from 2 Lancs with members of One Nation UK and Kumon y'all help clear a children's playground in Keswick. The playground was completely destroyed by the flooding from Storm Desmond
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
Islamic charities from across the North of England have joined soldiers to provide aid and assistance to the flooded towns and villages of Cumbria.
Volunteers and military personnel worked side by side in freezing temperatures and heavy rain, to clear a childrenÕs playground which had been destroyed in last weekÕs deluge.
In Keswick, a town which saw hundreds of properties flooded, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of LancasterÕs Regiment (2 LANCS) have now been joined by representatives of at least four Islamic charities all working under the direction of civilian aid group Team Rubicon.
Groups including One Nation, The Ansaar, KumonyÕall and Food For Thought (Al Imdaad) have sent hundreds of volunteers to Cumbria to offer support and work with sister organisations and the military.
Pictured: Soldiers from 2 Lancs with members of One Nation UK and Kumon y'all help clear a children's playground in Keswick. The playground was completely destroyed by the flooding from Storm Desmond
He said; "We came to this country and got fed by the people, now we can go out to feed the people"
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC: Crown Copyright.
Whilst on this task I got chatting to these guys. One of them said to me before they had left for Cumbria one of his Elders said to him; "When we came to this country we were fed, now it is our turn to feed"
This was my final job whilst on task. The main route to a village had been cut off from the landslides that the Engineers had been clearing leading to what was a 20 minute journey to a 2 hour journey. The local school wanted to invite the soldiers into their school to say thank you with a cup of tea and some cake.
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment meet the children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment meet the children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment meet the children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment receive bacon rolls, tea and cake from children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSLAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: 2nd Lieutenant Rob Whitby speaks to the children from Grasmere Primary School
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment receive bacon rolls, tea and cake from children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
LAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSLAKE DISTRICT SCHOOLÕS ÔTHANK YOUÕ TO ROAD ENGINEERSSoldiers from the Royal Engineers who have been clearing rubble and abandoned vehicles from a vital route in Cumbria have been thanked for their efforts by local schoolchildren.
Pupils at Grasmere Primary School invited personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment to lunch so they could show their gratitude for the efforts being made by the military, alongside Cumbria County Council, to clear the A591.
Pictured: Personnel from 21 Engineer Regiment receive bacon rolls, tea and cake from children from Grasmere Primary School.
Photographer: Cpl Timothy Jones RLC; Crown Copyright
This was a great story to finish my time off in Cumbria. It was great to see the people still getting on with everything even though some of their lives had been turned upside down. The spirit of the people of Cumbria really shone whilst I was there.
