Stamps of war dead on show

A CONTROVERSIAL art exhibition made up of the faces of British servicemen and women killed in Iraq is to go on show in Scotland for the first time.

Comprising a series of stamps, Queen and Country, created by Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, is dedicated to the 136 families who have lost loved ones serving in Iraq since the start of the last Gulf War.

The exhibition's arrival will be announced by the Art Fund, the UK's leading independent art charity, tomorrow in advance of Remembrance Sunday and the issuing of a Lest We Forget set of commemorative stamps by the Royal Mail.

The Art Fund is leading a campaign to get McQueen's 'stamps' issued officially as well to remind the public of the sacrifices being made by British troops abroad at present. Despite 14,000 signatures of support so far, the Royal Mail has refused.

The Fund hopes the number of signatures will swell once the exhibition goes on show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh between December 3 and February 15.

Currently nine soldiers from Scotland feature in Queen and Country, including Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, who served in The Highlanders. The 23-year-old was killed on January 30, 2006, near Basra.

His mother Diane said: "We think about Allan every day. It would be an honour to see his face on a real stamp and have him remembered in this way. It would also allow people to realise the ultimate sacrifice all these young men and women have made for their country."