John Frederick Brill (22 September 1919 – 1 July 1942) was an English soldier and painter who created the

Bardia Mural 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 ...

. On 1 July 1942, the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

launched an attack with the target being the capture of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, which was to become known as the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal Erwin ...

. The Allied forces fought hard and the line held until the evening of that day. On that same day Brill, who was a Private in the British Army, 5th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment, died at the age of just 22. On 21 April 1942, some 9 weeks earlier, he signed the

, which he is said to have created, depicting his memories of home. Some say it depicts the memories of the world he would die to protect. He was buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery.

Early years and education

According to his mother, Brill developed a passion for art at a young age, she said "As a tiny boy, John was always drawing". After school he studied art at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

. Having studied at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, he went on to pass the entrance exam to study a 3-year diploma course at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, when the war broke out. In her letter 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."

Military service

Having joined up, Brill became a Private in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, 5th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. He fought in

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and having survived

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

and returned to England, his regiment was posted to the

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. This would have involved him joining a troop ship likely in

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and sailing around the

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up the east coast of Africa and through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. After a time, Brill was transferred to the RASC, his mother "imagined that life would be somewhat slacker in the RASC than the infantry".

Wartime art

Brill's passion for drawing does not appear to have been reduced by the war around him. In fact it became a source for his art as related to his mother by his chum; "...when their convoy was bombed, as it frequently was, John would deliberately go out with his sketch book & pencil and sketch everything in sight, especially the faces of the lads as they ran for cover." He painted all the walls of his colleagues' canteen, with murals which according to his mother, "represented 'A Soldier's leave in Cairo'. This - I understand, afforded them much interest & amusement." These caught the attention of the officers of the RASC who asked him to create some murals in their Officers Mess. The subject of the murals being "The Pleasures of Avarice" and "The Pleasures of Art", he started a third mural of "The Last Supper", "but this was never finished as his company was moved up the line." The mural appears to represent a combination of these subjects. He signed the mural on 21 April 1942, a matter of weeks before his death. Brill died on 1 July 1942, the first day of the

, aged 22. He was buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery.

References

A primary source of material on the Bardia Mural accessed on 28 May 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brill, John Frederick 1942 deaths 1919 births English muralists Alumni of the Royal College of Art 20th-century English painters English male painters East Yorkshire Regiment soldiers British Army personnel killed in World War II Royal Army Service Corps soldiers 20th-century English male artists Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic