WW1 miners to be honoured in Wales art installation

The 6ft installations are made of aluminium and designed by artist Martin Barraud

A pop-up art installation to honour Welsh miners who served in World War One has been installed at Big Pit National Coal Museum at Blaenavon.

The one-day exhibition launches a nationwide campaign to mark the centenary of the end of the Great War.

The installation comprises 6ft (1.8m) aluminium statues of Tommies, designed by artist Martin Barraud.

Smaller versions will then go on sale with the proceeds going to armed forces and mental health charities.

• Welsh miners role was laying landmines

• The story of the Welsh boy soldiers

• Blaenavon miner a pioneer of underground warfare

Snow Tommy is one of the figures on a white landscape

Dr Gerard Oram, director of the War and Society Programmes at Swansea University, said: "The contribution that miners made to the war effort cannot be understated.

"Their unique skills made them indispensable, but this came at a severe cost.

"This campaign is the perfect way to remember those heroes of the past and to engage the whole of Wales in a year of commemoration."

• What Was Life Like In The Trenches?

• The soldiers who came back from the dead

Welsh miners were a prized asset in World War One, with many used to dig trenches under enemy lines.

Those who did not meet the height requirement of 5ft 3in (1.6m) were signed up into bantam battalions so their skills could still be used.

The art works form part of an exhibition called "There But Not There".

In Wales, it focuses on soldiers who were miners, but it will also run across England and Scotland.

Sitting silhouettes are designed to mark the men who never came home