War, colonialism, and the senses: 'You can't unsee or unhear that shit’

This chapter explores British soldier’s experiences of delivering state violence in the ‘war on terror’. Drawing on in-depth visual and narrative interviews with ex-military men, the chapter offers a unique insight into the lived realities of soldiering in Afghanistan and Iraq, through the lens of their sensory experiences. After connecting with literature on sensory criminology, war, and embodiment, the chapter explains why and how photo and object elicitation are valuable methods to research experiences of war, from an ethical, trauma-informed position of care. Next, it analyses how participants moved from talking about photos and military objects, to their visceral recollections of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching death in war. Lastly, the chapter shares participants’ reflections on the ongoing harms of war and British colonial occupation, for themselves and for the Middle East and Global South. I argue that paying attention to the sensory traces of colonial state violence not only deepens understanding of its enduring impacts, but also opens space to develop practices of repair, resistance, and healing. It is hoped this chapter inspires further anti-colonial and anti-war research in criminology.