Rose is asking for the troops to be brought home from Iraq

Rose is asking the Prime Minister’s wife as a mother who has sons the same age as Gordon, to do all she can from her unique position of influence to get the troops brought home safely from Iraq.

She strongly believes that Gordon's life and the lives of all British soldiers killed in Iraq have been wasted fighting an illegal and unjustifiable war.

Rose has never been politically active before but she has turned her grief and pain into a campaign to bring British soldiers home from Iraq.

'The government so far has ignored my plea" says Rose, "but when I am on my own, I go into my son's room, close the door and just think, something has to be done".

Support from her community

Rose is backed up by her community and family, and addresses Cherie Blair directly in the film.

She asks her for a response to her grief, pain and rage. Rose asks her, 'would you want your son coming home in a coffin covered in the Union Jack? I don't think so'.

Gordon’s story

The film shows Gordon as a child, we see him in a school play, in training, at his stepping out parade and numerous photographs. We see Gordon's friends, lads like him, alive and kicking a ball around the estate streets of Pollok.

Rose recalls her last words to Gordon, she remembers him calling and telling her, 'this place is crazy, we nearly got shot the other night, bullets were passing past our heads'.

Rose recalls watching the news and hearing that a patrol had been attacked and a soldier killed, seeing a burned out military vehicle and a dead soldier lying on the ground beside it.

Four hours later, army reps came to her door and informed her that Gordon had been killed. She realised the boy she'd seen on television, lying dead on the ground, had been her son.

Paying tribute to Gordon

The film honours Gordon, pays testament to his character. He was a star athlete, did voluntary work when he couldn't get a job - he had a 'heart of gold'.

Rose explains that her campaign is exactly what Gordon would have wanted her to do. “If the same had happened to any of his friends, he would have done the same”, she says of her campaign.

Film launch: December 2004

Dear Mrs Blair was premiered on 19 December at the Glasgow Film Theatre. Rose Gentle made a personal appearance and a debate followed the screening.

The panel of speakers included Mahmood Al-Savvagh (Scholar and Scientist), Ewa Jasiewicz (Human Rights Activist and Journalist), Rev. John Mann (Reverand at Pollock Church) and A. L. Kennedy (Writer).

More Info.

You can find out more about the premiere in the campaign update.

Letters of Support

Mask Campaign

All Camcorder Guerilla films are made by a voluntary collective - if you would like to know more , make a donation or would like to get involved then please follow the links.