Mural

We contacted an artist known as Tee2sugars to help the community design and create a mural to tell a story of the village and its people.
“Tee” with 15 years of experience had the challenge of creating the artwork over 2 large canvases. With the main focus of the soldiers that never returned home. Work commenced March 2023.

At the start the left-hand image represents the village and men of Troedrhiwfuwch pre WW1. Many of the men were employed as miners in local collieries. There was an enlistment campaign following the outbreak of war in August 1914, and a record number of men enlisted from Troedrhiwfuwch (110 men from 94 houses). The verse on the board is taken from a much longer poem about the bravery of the village that appeared in the Western Mail January 1915.

"Hurrah for the village whose name we can now tell
"A name to the Saxon not easy to spell
"Where ere there are slackers
"They are not amongst youths
"Who hail from the hamlet of Troedrhiwfuwch
"From 94 houses, one hundred and ten
"Is the number recruited of gallant young men."

The right-hand mural depicts the theatre of war during WW1, with a representation of men 'going over the top' from the trenches. Only four men from Troedrhiwfuwch, listed on the war memorial have known graves, the remainder are listed on the panels of the large European war memorials, for example, Menin Gate, Mons and Thiepval.

The Process

It was very challenging to complete the mural. Within the few days Tee had given himself to complete, the weather had taken a turn in typical Welsh fashion. Rain, Snow, Hail, Sunshine, sometimes all in one afternoon. Due to the adverse weather and Tee's busy schedule it was finally completed May 2023.