This site is updated progressively not destructively, which confuses some visitors.
The first page depicts my original 2004 web page and the story as told to me in 1960 when I took the pictures (with film).
The story has had to be modified as various people have provided fragments of ‘truth’.
The way the truth unfolded is in itself interesting and I am grateful to those that made its publicity possible.
Rather than remove the original story, (which is still relayed to tourists in Libya) I feel that it provides interest and continuity.
Webmaster:- Please note that all images are copyright their owners with the exception of the Mrs Brill Mural
which is now public domain.
Permission for their reproduction may be sought via me.
Some of the people that have contributed vital pictures and information...
or simply conributed their memories.
John Seccombe (ex R.A.F.)
General Suleiman Obeidi (Benghazi - Historian)
...thank you again for the signed copy of your book on Rommel
Major Mousa Saad (Tobruk)
George Mirowski (ex Army)
Albert Webb (ex R.A.F.)
Andy Lamnea (ex R.N.)
Hatem Sabrey (Tripoli)
Alain Blottière (Paris), Kuno Goss (Afrika Korp)
Andrew Simmonds, Mike (Webmaster TEARS)
Emily Buck, Don Jones, Andrew Bedford, Dennis Turner
Ray Eale, Darrell Earnshaw, Patricia Dawson, Dave Johnson,
Sue Jones, Miloud El Nibou (Libya), Dr Noel Cutajar (Malta).
to whom I am extremely grateful.
If anybody remembers events or people on these pages please get in touch via the e-mail button.
The mural was purportedly produced with boot polish by a prisoner of war, using fingers, matchsticks and the like.
(see update page.)
If it is still there (2004) it will have deteriorated even more than it had in the 19 years between it's creation and my visit to the town.(see update page.)
It is now some 62 years since it was produced.
Inexperienced photography resulted in badly lit and slightly out of focus pictures, which were all taken from the left end of the wall.
The resulting parallax error can be seen, where the right end has less height than the left, and slopes.
At a little over the age of 18, I saw the mural more as a curiosity than appreciating it for what it really is...
a masterpiece
How age changes one's perspective!
The photographs are a very poor substitute for the awe inspiring vision when first seen in full sized reality.
The true beauty and fine detail was clearly visible to the naked eye, from across the room.
The following enlargements are a poor attempt to convey that detail and share this experience.
I am not an artist, in fact I cannot draw a decent circle, let alone hope to interpret the artist's intended meaning or thoughts.
It would add great interest and be of benefit to all viewers, if people with artisitic insight were to generously offer their
Comments to this page.
It is becoming increasingly unlikely, but...
was anybody now viewing this page, present in this room at the time of production?
Just below the skulls at the top left of the mural is the inscription...
J. Brill R A S C 21 4 42 ?
(see updates 1 page.)
A Private John Frederick Brill (4617871) 5th Bn East Yorkshire Regiment
died in action 1st July 1942 at the very young age of 22,
fighting for his country in a far off inhospitable land.
Reference
He was buried at the El Alemein War Cemetery.
He was the son of Frederick and Eliza
from Wanstead in Essex.
The above would seem to suggest that he left captivity during the intervening nine weeks.
When did he append his name and how long did the mural take to produce?
Could it have been done in this short time or did he sign it when finished?
(see update page.)
It is a pity that the labels are not readable.
Is the music Bach perhaps?
Notice that the music is visible through the clear glass of the bottles.
A person can be seen at the window in the top right corner, seemingly observing the scene.
Is it his girlfriend, wife or mother looking out for his return?
How long did it take to produce the realistic detail in the brickwork?
The detail in these Bank of Egypt coins and notes must have taken many hours to perfect ...and repeat.
The carved head on one of the cellos is reminiscent of the prow of an ancient ship.
Look at the detail showing the strings wound around the tuning knobs
This could almost have been a real newspaper pasted on the wall.
The paragraph settings and indenting are perfect. Is it in fact a copy of an actual issue sent with a Red Cross parcel?
There seems to be a specific interest in boxing. Maybe he represented his regiment.
From masks to heads to skulls? Or the other way around! These seem to form an underlying theme to the other items.
The skulls perhaps represent death witnessed in the desert war, or is there something deeper?.
The faces seem to have an international flavour.
The detail and subtle shading is very fine and after 64 years of exposure, the upper parts of the mural seem remarkably clear.
If only we could read the titles
Are they encyclopaedias, they are all the same size?
NO! - An update, courtesy of Lydia Pappas, is that the books are in fact a selection of works by Charles Dickens.
From left to right
A Tale of Two Cities; Barnaby Rudge; David Copperfield; The Old Curiosity Shop and The Pickwick Papers.
The photograph provided by John Seccombe provides the last title, 'Christmas Carol'.
