Remembrance: Artist's war mural on Abertillery house

A powerful new mural honouring those who served in the armed forces has been painted on the side of a house.

The piece - a kneeling soldier among poppies - stands as a backdrop to the cenotaph in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent.

Its creator, known as Tee2sugars, said the response had been "overwhelming" after a campaign raised thousands of pounds to make it happen.

Businessman Bob Smith first had the idea in 2021, but bad weather and red tape means it has just been finished.

The timing of the finished worked, however, has proved apt.

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"It's going to make Remembrance Day a better day and it's going to be a great thing for Abertillery " said Mr Smith.

The wall behind the cenotaph had cracks in the render before the artwork transformed it

He thought of the idea after the town's Remembrance service in 2021 when he "couldn't help but notice the wall behind the statue was in a dreadful condition".

He approached the family who owned the house and they agreed that the mural could be painted on their exterior wall.

Like many war memorials across Wales, Abertillery's shows the names of many men who died in the two world wars, leaving behind devastated families.

Levi Coleman is one of the men named on Abertillery's cenotaph

Yvonne Meredith and Gary Brooks are cousins whose great-grandfather, Levi Coleman, is named on the cenotaph. He died in Belgium in 1915, aged 39.

They were delighted with the new artwork, with Mrs Meredith saying: "It's nice for the people who will never come back.

"It was lovely before but that there has made it - it is gorgeous."

Tee2sugars battled wind and rain to complete the mural in five days and pictures on his Instagram and Facebook accounts have had thousands of likes.

When BBC Wales met him at the mural, people were constantly stopping him, wanting to show their appreciation

Tee2sugars has had a great response to his work from people in Abertillery

"The response I've had has been crazy," he said.

"I think it's because of what it symbolises: people giving their lives for what we have today."

He believes the mural is already making history relevant for children in the town.

"The fact that it's done with a spray can, I think that it gets the young people on board.

"When everyone was leaving school they were all coming past and they were really chuffed to see that there's a guy with a spray can up there, not a traditional artist.

"The best thing is that I've heard that they are now learning what the memorial is in school, so the local schools are all on board with teaching the kids what it is all about."

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