adnan sarwar

It isn't nice but you're an animal, so you can do it, dressed in green and brown and black waiting to be attacked and smiling because you had bullets for teeth.

Adnan Sarwar, a Pakistani boy from Burnley, joined the British Army – the White Man’s Army. Why did he do it? To prove he was as white as his friends? For Queen and Country? Or to work out who he was – British, Muslim or a Soldier? Perhaps he could be all three.

‘British Muslim Soldier’ is Adnan’s journey through the battlegrounds of war, race and identity, facing up to the often brutal realities of these fraught warzones. There is racism, family ties, tedious routine, enemies and torture. But what Adnan’s story really comes down to is love – love for his family, for his fellow squaddies – and a deep-rooted sense of identity and belonging.

…when did these clothes fit so well? When did Corporal become an older brother and when did the army become a mother? When did I become a British soldier?