In 2003 British Armed Forces were mobilised as part of a US-led international coalition for the invasion of Iraq. Operation Telic was the codename given for all British military operations in the Iraq War and 46,150 British servicemen and women were involved for the initial invasion, including 5,200 reservists.
Fusilier Spencer Cameron-Waller was a reservist who served with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Wales on Operation Telic 3 between October 2003 and April 2004. He had joined in 2000 and worked his full-time job alongside participating in various military training days and exercises throughout the year.
Neither Spencer nor his wife were expecting him to go to war, but Spencer was told that he would be going to Iraq just one month before his deployment.
In Iraq, Spencer was a driver for the commanding officer, taking him and an interpreter to meetings with various local Iraqi groups. While Spencer was expected to do the same job as a regular soldier, he would go straight back to his civilian life at the end of his tour.
The invasion of Iraq took place on 20 March 2003. It involved a coalition of troops led by the US with the aim of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and removing Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party government from power.
By 9 April, Baghdad had fallen and a coalition-led interim government, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), was set up. This was a crucial time for Iraq, when the US, Britain and others took responsibility for security and reconstruction of the country. Their role has since come under close scrutiny.
The Coalition focused on finding and capturing Saddam Hussein, releasing wanted posters and leaflets.
This method was frequently used to encourage potential informants to come forward with information. Spencer kept one of the most wanted posters distributed in Basra, which can be seen below.
Coalition forces were also encouraged to look out for wanted individuals.
When Spencer arrived in Iraq he was issued with a pack of playing cards which featured pictures of senior figures of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist government.
He kept the cards given to him in their original packaging and used the photographs on the back for reference.
These cards are currently on display at IWM North. Find out more about other contemporary objects on display there.
Saddam was eventually captured in December 2003. This brought with it a sense of optimism for the Iraqi people, witnessed by Spencer and other British troops based in South-East Iraq.
“I was there when Saddam Hussein was captured. I can tell you how joyous the people were…they were very, very happy”.
The reactions of both the Iraqi people and British forces were recorded by official photographers.
A sign was put up at the Air Traffic Control Tower at Basra Air Station, where British troops were stationed, declaring “We got him”, as shown in this photograph.
After the capture of Saddam Hussein, British forces continued to patrol the local areas around Basra.
The aim was to improve and maintain security in Southern Iraq. Spencer outlines that their role was also about “winning the hearts and minds” of the Iraqi people.
A British soldier can be seen here conducting a foot patrol through a neighbourhood in Basra.
The aim of these patrols was to deter any illegal activity and meet the local population.
Interpreters were often used by Coalition forces when conducting such patrols and vehicle check points (VCPs), providing a key bridge for communicating with the local people.
Here, British soldiers wait to be extracted from a highway road in Basra after conducting an Eagle VCP.
Spencer noted that the Iraqi people in Basra initially welcomed Coalition forces after they had been violently oppressed and disempowered by Saddam’s regime.
“Generally the people were friendly and hospitable. They were open and welcoming because obviously prior to us arriving they had been oppressed because they were in the minority”
However, a power vacuum was created after removing Saddam Hussein and Baath Party members from their positions. Widespread looting, crime and violence threatened to destabilise Iraq. Key areas of infrastructure were destroyed and there were high levels of unemployment.
High hopes in the Coalition turned into frustration and there were huge economic implications of trying to remove all trace of Saddam Hussein and his government.
The Iraqi security sector was dismantled and the Iraqi Army was disbanded, leaving thousands of soldiers without salaries or pensions. This footage shows a 2004 protest outside government offices in Basra, in relation to the loss of pensions by former Iraqi soldiers.
Iraq’s currency was largely replaced by the US dollar by the time of Spencer’s deployment but he still managed to collect some Iraqi currency notes which all bear the image of Saddam Hussein, highlighting his continued legacy.
For Spencer, British forces were “managing it to the best of their ability” but there was a growing insurgency developing that they were not prepared for.
The short notice and speed with which British forces had been deployed to Iraq had been marked by a shortage of equipment. It was noted that some personnel did not have the correct desert clothing or body armour and there were shortages of ammunition.
British forces also used Snatch Land Rover vehicles which were originally designed for operations in Northern Ireland.
They were taken straight from bases in Germany or dispatched from Northern Ireland where they had been used for rural patrolling.
In preparation for the invasion of Iraq this vehicle was spray painted from green to desert khaki in Kuwait in February 2003.
The rapid deployment meant there wasn’t always time to convert military vehicles for desert conditions. Spencer can be seen here with his vehicle which had not fully been modified for the conditions in Iraq.
Although the Snatch Land Rover was gradually adapted for the weather and terrain in Iraq, they were not suitably armoured to protect against sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosively formed projectiles (EFPs). In August 2003 the first British fatality from a roadside bomb, or IED, took place.
The military were slow to adapt to this growing threat. The Snatch gained the nickname the “mobile coffin” on account of how little protection it provided. It would not be until 2010 that the Ministry of Defence announced the replacement of the Snatch with the Foxhound vehicle, which provided better blast protection with a V-shaped hull.
The threat of IEDs to the Snatch Land Rover was felt by Spencer:
“It wasn’t suited. If that rolled over an IED, thank god it didn’t, I would have been killed…the snatch was not designed for that purpose because if you look at the vehicles they used later they had the specific V shape to direct the blast away”
Returning home
Reservists fought and died alongside members of the Regular Army but once their tour ended, they would frequently return straight back to their civilian life. Spencer spent 6 months in Iraq before his tour came to an end.
“I flew straight from a conflict, a lot of pressure, a lot of stress, and straight to Paderborn to Germany. As you can imagine it’s rather instantaneous”.
A period of decompression after active service is now normal but for Spencer and his wife, the intensity and speed of returning to civilian life came as a surprise.
“I just remember from my perspective, it happened so quickly, Spencer coming back home…Spencer was home, I think he had another 2 weeks off with me and then went back to normal routine and work,” his wife recalled.
Today reservists are currently involved in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Operation Shader. For Spencer, the possibility of returning to Iraq was too high and he left the reservists soon after returning home. Items he collected from his tour, as well as his account of how he served his “Queen and country”, are now held at IWM and serve as a reminder of his and other reservists’ roles in Iraq during a period of difficult transition.
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IWM’s Contemporary Conflict team develop collections relating to the causes, course and consequences of conflicts since 2001. The team’s remit covers all contemporary conflicts that are significant to the UK and the Commonwealth. These include Afghanistan, the Iraq War, counter ISIS operations, Libya and war in Yemen.
If you served during, or have been impacted by, any of these conflicts then the team would love to hear from you.
