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19-468: The Bardia Mural was created in a building on a clifftop overlooking the bay in Bardia , Libya , during World War II by John Frederick Brill just prior to his death at the age of 22. 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 to be visited. It has been defaced and its state has declined with

38-407: A boxer overlay a newspaper, beneath which money and piles of skulls, are followed by grasping hands reaching up to repeated and overlaid 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

57-430: 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. According to his mother, Brill developed

76-589: A crew drawn predominantly from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy . The ship also carried a large contingent of seconded South African personnel. In December 1939, several months after war was declared, Neptune was patrolling in the South Atlantic in pursuit of German surface raider heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee . Neptune , with other patrolling Royal Navy heavy units, was sent to Uruguay in

95-439: A large crack in the wall on which it was created. Much of its lower part is lost. As of April 2009, Italian artists have filled the cracks, replaced broken plaster, removed graffiti and restored some of the paint's blackness. As can be seen from the photograph taken in the sixties, while the mural was still largely intact, it originally depicted Brill's memories of home, as well as the horrors of war. From left to right images of

114-668: 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." He fought in Europe and survived Dunkirk, after which his regiment

133-491: A raiding squadron of cruisers. Their task was to intercept and destroy German and Italian convoys en route to Libya. The convoys were supplying Rommel's Afrika Korps in North Africa with troops and equipment. Force K was sent out on 18 December 1941, to intercept a convoy bound for Tripoli , right after the brief fleet engagement at sunset known as First Battle of Sirte . On the night of 19–20 December, Neptune , leading

152-792: The Australian 6th Division in fighting over 3–5 January 1941 at the Battle of Bardia . The Axis later reoccupied the town and set up a prisoner of war camp there. On 2 January 1942, Bardia was re-taken by the South African 2nd Infantry Division , led by 1st Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry , supported by the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment and also the South African 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (Light Anti-Aircraft). The South Africans lost approximately 160 men, and

171-590: The Mediterranean Fleet . The bombardment force consisted of the French battleship  Lorraine , British cruisers HMS  Orion and HMS  Neptune , the Australian cruiser HMAS  Sydney , and the destroyers HMS Dainty , Decoy , Hasty , and HMAS  Stuart . The bombardment caused minimal damage. The town was taken during Operation Compass by Commonwealth forces consisting mainly of

190-627: The aftermath of the Battle of the River Plate . However, she was still in transit when the Germans scuttled Graf Spee off Montevideo on 17 December. Neptune was the first British ship to spot the Italian Fleet in the battle of Calabria , on 9 July 1940, marking also the first time since the Napoleonic Wars that the Mediterranean Fleet received the signal "enemy battle fleet in sight". During

209-555: The destroyer Jaguar , to prevent her capture. Neptune hit a fourth mine and quickly capsized, killing 737 crew members. Initially some 30 others survived the sinking, but they also died of wounds and exposure in the subsequent days. As a result, only one was still alive when their carley float was picked up five days later by the Italian torpedo boat Generale Achille Papa . The sole survivor, Norman Walton, spent 15 months in an Italian prisoner of war camp. In 1991, Walton travelled to

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228-460: The line, struck two mines , part of an Italian minefield laid by an Italian cruiser force in June 1941. The first struck the anti-mine screen, causing no damage. The second struck the bow hull. The other cruisers present, Aurora and Penelope , also struck mines. While reversing out of the minefield, Neptune struck a third mine, which took off her propellers and left her dead in the water. Aurora

247-604: The operation freed about 1,150 Allied prisoners of war (including 650 New Zealanders ) and took some 8,500 Axis prisoners (German and Italian). Bardia again changed hands in June 1942, being re-occupied by Axis forces for a third time, but was abandoned without contest in November following the Allied victory at El Alamein . Bardia is the location of the Bardia Mural , finished in 1942. HMS Neptune (20) HMS Neptune

266-462: 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 sumptuous meal (many knives and forks), under which are fitted a number of books, which according to Lydia Pappas 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

285-444: The subsequent engagement, she was hit by the Italian light cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi . The 6-inch shell splinters struck the aircraft catapult and damaged her floatplane beyond repair, its wreckage being thrown into the sea. Minutes later, Neptune 's main guns scored three hits on the heavy cruiser Bolzano , inflicting some damage on her torpedo room, below the waterline and the "B" turret . During 1941, she led Force K,

304-584: The town was known as Petras Maior . During World War I , German U-boats made several landings in the port of Bardia in support of the Senussi order during the Senussi Campaign . During World War II , it was the site of a major Italian fortification , invested by the XXIII Corps under the command of General Annibale Bergonzoli . On 21 June 1940, the town was bombarded by the 7th Cruiser Squadron of

323-496: Was a Leander -class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II . Neptune was the fourth ship of its class and was the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name. Built by Portsmouth Dockyard , Neptune was laid down on 24 September 1931, launched on 31 January 1933, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 12 February 1934 with the pennant number 20. During World War II, Neptune operated with

342-767: Was posted to the Middle East. Brill was a Private in the 5th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment . He signed the mural on 21 April 1942, a matter of weeks before his death. He died on 1 July 1942, the first day of the First Battle of El Alamein , aged 22. He was buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery. Uncropped photographs taken by Donald Simmonds that show signs of wear and tear even then. More photographs that show graffiti. 2009 photographs showing renovation in progress. Bardia In Roman times

361-410: Was unable to render assistance as she was already down to 10 knots (19 km/h) and needed to turn back to Malta . Penelope was also unable to assist. The destroyers Kandahar and Lively were sent into the minefield to attempt a tow. The former struck a mine and began drifting. Neptune then signalled for Lively to keep clear. Kandahar was later evacuated and scuttled with a torpedo by

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