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The 'Bardia Mural' was created during World War II by John Frederick Brill just prior to his death at the age of 22^[1]. It depicts a collage of images that range from the horrors of war shown by skulls to the memories of home, shown by wine, women and song.
The mural still exists and can still be visited, it has however been defaced and its state has declined with a large crack in the wall on which it was created and much of the lower part of the mural is lost.

Contents

Mural Description

History

New Facts and Controversies Answered

Images of the Mural

References

External links

Mural Description

As can be seen from the photograph taken in the sixties, while the mural was still largely intact, it originally depicted his memories of home, as well as the horrors of war. From left to right images of a boxer overlay a newspaper, beneath which money, and piles of skulls are followed by grasping hands reaching up to repeated and overlayed images of apparently naked women, whose facial features change subtely. Above these women can be seen the artists signature reference to the R.A.S.C. and the date of 21 4 42, with a further repetition of skulls above the signature. The image continues to unfold, on the other side of what appears to be a curtain separating the two sides of the mural, with pages of music, a grand piano and a table laid for a sumptious meal (many knives and forks), under which are fitted a number of books, which according to Lydia Pappas ^[2]
represent the works of Charles Dickens From left to right: ''A Tale of Two Cities''; ''Barnaby Rudge''; ''David Copperfield''; ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' and ''The Pickwick Papers''. The image flows on to a conductor with more music , followed by a number of men's faces watching three ballet dancers, who are dancing on a floor of musical notes, the mural ends with the image of a face looking out of a window high up in a brick wall at the top right hand corner of the mural, which has variously been suggested to be the artist himself, or a relative back in "blighty" awaiting his return.

History

According to his mother^[3] John developed a passion for art at a young age. Having studied at the Royal Academy, he then went on to pass the entrance exam to study a 3 year diploma course at the Royal College of Art when the war broke out. His mother wrote "His creed was that in order to become a great artist, he must suffer. Consequently he joined the Infantry, believing that to be the roughest and hardest of the services."^[3] He fought in Europe and survived Dunkirk, after which his regiment was posted
to the Middle East.
John Frederick Brill was a Private^[1] in the 5th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment^[1].

He signed the mural on 21 April, 1942^[7] , a matter of weeks before his death.

He died on 1 July, 1942^[1], the first day of the First Battle of El Alamein, aged 22^[1].

He was buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery^[1].

New Facts and Controversies Answered

Early verions of the Bardia Murals History involved controversy.
'Boot Black or Paint?' Some versions stated that the material used to create the murals was Boot Black.
'Prisoner and under Sentence of Death?' There were arguments as to Johns status when he painted the mural, which had him as a prisoner of war and some versions even had him under sentence of death.
These three "inaccuracies" were referred to in a letter to the "Old Codgers" section of the ''Daily Mirror''.
John's mother wrote a letter, to put the facts right, on 31/1/1966, having been shown a copy of the article about the mural which she knew her son had painted before his death. In the letter she stated that he originally painted a mural on each of the "four walls of the lad's canteen, which represented 'A Soldier's leave in Cairo'. This - I understand, afforded them much interest & amusement".^[3]
Following this the Officers asked John to create Murals in their Officer's Mess. According to John's mother the picture below represents one of these murals. The subjects being "The Pleasures of Avarice" and "The Pleasures of Art", and a third subject of "The Last Supper', "but this was never finished as his company was moved up the line." The Bardia Mural is likely to be one of these.^[12]
She goes on in her letter to state "I am thankfull to say, that he was not under sentence of death, neither was he ever a prisoner."^[3]
She also states that the material used to create the various murals he painted during this period was paint, and not boot black; "paints were bought in Cairo, by the lads on leave and sent up by Convoy to Bardia. I understand that the costs were defrayed from the N.A.F.F.A. funds."^[3]
(It is likely that she meant to refer to NAAFI funds)
One interpretation of the Bardia Mural could be that the left side represents 'The Pleasures of Avarice' and the right side 'The Pleasures of Art'. Perhaps John's mother misunderstood one of his letters to refer to different sides of the mess, rather than different sides of the mural. So while her letter cleared up three questions, it may have added a fourth.
How many murals did John paint in his short life?

Images of the Mural

More recent photographs that show signs of wear and tear.

References

★ A source of material on the 'Bardia Mural' accessed on 28 May 2006
1.
Last Resting Place
2.
Latest Updates
3.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother
4.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother
5.
Last Resting Place
6.
Last Resting Place
7.
Signature Close Up
8.
Last Resting Place
9.
Last Resting Place
10.
Last Resting Place
11.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother
12.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother
13.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother
14.
Letter to John Seccombe from Brill's Mother

External links

★ Reference to the 'Bardia Mural' by a U.S. visitor

★ Mention from another U.S. visitor

★ Link to Google Map