'Patrol at Pan Kalay Police Station - Op Herrick 18 9/13'

Oil on board by Michael Alford, 2013.

The artist writes:

'During my visit to PB2, near Gereshk, a patrol was organised to prepare the ground for a shura to take place in a hut at the nearby Afghan Police Station compound at the hamlet of Pan Kalay. On arrival, some fusiliers [of 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers] stood guard to keep an eye on both the road outside and the police themselves, as the officers taking part in the shura (and of all things an American anthropologist) were unarmed, while the remaining members of the patrol rested in the minimal shade provided by the compound wall - the temperature by midday was in the high 90's or low 100's , and it was a huge relief to at least remove our helmets.

I sat on mine in the skull-splitting heat and painted them as they slept or chatted. Entertainment and food was provided by a 14 year old boy, the son of one of the policemen, who practised his English and brought plates of chapattis and potato curry. He didn't stand around long enough to make it into this painting, but he took great delight from pointing out the bloodstained patch of gravel (to the right of this sketch) where five members of the Taliban had bled to death a few days before.'