Kevin is honoured for war zone work (From Echo)

Kevin is honoured for war zone work

3:30pm Tuesday 3rd January 2012 in Rayleigh / Rochford

A FORMER Rayleigh schoolboy who works as a TV cameraman with the Army in war zones has been appointed an MBE.

Kevin Capon, 54, has been honoured for his work in Iraq and Afghanistan as a senior cameraman for the Ministry of Defence’s news team.

Mr Capon, a one-time pupil at Glebe Primary and Sweyne Park secondary schools, found out he was on the Queen’s New Year Honours list just before Christmas.

He said: “It was a surreal moment when the news came through.

“I kept it a secret and didn’t even tell my wife until just before we sat down for Christmas dinner.

“There were a few tears shed – it was a fantastic day.

“Ultimately, this honour means I’ve gained the respect of my peers and means I can carry on doing what I’m doing well into the future.”

The cameraman, who lives in Wiltshire but regularly visits his mother Thea, 86, in Norman Road, Rayleigh, has risked his life following frontline troops into war zones from Afghanistan to Sierra Leone.

He spent four months following the British Army’s invasion of Iraq, avoiding enemy fire, but feeling he could get hit any any time.

He said: “I’m not saying it plays on your mind. But every time you go out, you feel it could be you who gets hit by one of those shells.”

However, he added he got “a real buzz” from knowing the world’s media was using his footage.

He said: “I’ve always had a passion for images. I served in the Army with the Parachute Regiment but I felt that my love of photography gave me, excuse the pun, a real focus for wanting to be a cameraman.”

He said his wife Audrey, who is a schoolteacher, found it difficult to know he was working in dangerous situations, and added: “She doesn’t watch the news, like many soldiers’ wives, but we’re fortunate that with today’s technology we can keep in touch.

“Like I always tell the troops when we’re out there, the world is only as big as a mobile phone.”