NEW MURAL FOR CARMARTHEN DETACHMENT
Whilst most cadets were stuck at home having lessons online for school, college and cadets, one cadet from Carmarthen Detachment spent the year painting a new mural to be placed in his detachment. The mural, a massive five-foot work of art was the idea and creation of cadet LCpl Iestyn Burke. Iestyn looked at the existing mural that was painted by a cadet in 1984 of the former regiment that the cadets were badged to but thought it would be good to have the cap badge of their newly affiliated regiment.
The original badge was the Royal Regiment of Wales which later amalgamated with the Royal Welch Fusiliers to form the Royal Welsh, but last year the detachment became affiliated with the army reserve regiment they share the centre with. They are now badged Royal Logistics Corps (RLC).
Iestyn, aged 16 said he has been painting from a young age and encouraged by his father who is also a keen artist. He spent about an hour a day to start but found that the paint was a poor quality and made the painting all patchy, unfortunately he had to restart from scratch with better quality paints. One of the biggest problems, due to its size, was where to store it. It started in the bedroom then ended in every other room in the house, finally ending up in the garage. As the mural evolved, he started working up to 3 hours a day and his father also assisted.
During the day Iestyn has been doing an apprenticeship in Facilities management, this involved a blend of study and full-time work and is hoping for a career in this. In the evening, when not on zoom doing virtual cadet training, he was busy painting.
Iestyn, who joined the cadets 3 years ago is so proud of his detachment and felt this was a perfect tribute. He stated “Once we can return back to the detachment, I look forward to hanging it in pride of place to be used as a backdrop for presentations. I will be donating the mural to the detachment as my way of giving back to those that have helped me over the years”. When he turns 18, he intends to apply to become an adult volunteer and remain in cadets.
When his detachment commander Adult Under Officer (AUO) Darren Parker was told about the mural, he did not expect it to be as good as it was. On seeing it, he was choked and emotional, he said “I could not be prouder, I am just overwhelmed by his achievement. We are all so proud of him”. Area Commander of G (Welsh Guards) Company, Captain Nick Roberts is looking forward to seeing this masterpiece and thanking LCpl Burke personally.
We now have a challenge to find the former cadet who painted the original mural back in 1984. We are unable to read the name but would like to find him/her.
Do you know who painted it?
Was it you?
Were you a cadet or adult volunteer in Carmarthen Detachment in 1984?
We would love to hear from you.
