Sunday 2 April 2017

#MySundayPhoto Number 14 - The Abandoned Soldier

#MySundayPhoto-number-14-abandoned-soldier-cardiff-castle
The Abandoned Soldier
To honour those who have valiantly fought for our country
but are not being treated as the heroes they truly are

#MySundayPhoto Number 14 - The Abandoned Soldier


We decided to go into the city centre yesterday to have a meal at Jamies. If you sign up for their gold card then throughout the year you are given little treats, a birthday treat is a bottle of prosecco. It was a lovely day, sunshine and showers, so we went a little early and visited Cardiff Castle first. We are lucky, residents of Cardiff can buy a "key" for £5 and it gives unlimited free access to the castle and grounds for a year. We walked around the battlements catching views over Cardiff when we came across this. The Abandoned Soldier.

Underneath the monument is written;


The Abandoned Soldier

To honour those who have valiantly fought for our country
but are not being treated as the heroes they truly are

It is very poignant and I did not know it was there. There was no other information on the sculpture, so when I got home I did an little search.

The monument was commissioned in 2007 by the BBC for a documentary, Power To The People. It was created by the sculptor James Napier and modelled after British ex-soldier Lance Corporal Daniel Twiddy. In 2003, in Basra, Daniel was wounded by friendly fire and shrapnel. 

The monument is not bronze, as it appears to be, but made of resin. It was first in Trafalgar Square then Cardiff, Exeter and a tour of Wales including Snowden, then back to Cardiff, where it has been since 2014 and will stay until 2018. There are no details where it is going after that.


#MySundayPhoto-number-14-abandoned-soldier-cardiff-castle

Do you have any hidden monuments in your town? 


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14 comments

  1. What a striking monument. So well designed.
    #MySundayPhoto

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    Replies
    1. It really was stunning, I was surprised it was resin and not bronze

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  2. I love the close up of this, the stunning sky really lifts it

    Thank you for linking up

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, I agree. It really stands out against the sky

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  3. Oh wow! That is a fantastic monument....

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    Replies
    1. It really is. I wonder where it will end up.

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    2. Really surprised it's made from resin! Looks like a very striking and poignant monument

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    3. I thought it was bronze until I read about it. It needs to be permanent somewhere

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  4. What a lovely message and a great monument, we all owe so much to those soldiers.

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  5. He looks amazing. I can't believe we didn't see him on our recent visit. It must have been the only corner of Cardiff Castle we didn't go to!

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    Replies
    1. I hadn't seen it before either. It is above the WWII shelters on the battlements. Well worth a visit to see it

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  6. https://www.facebook.com/TheAbandonedSoldier/

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  7. He will hopefully be staying there for the next ten years. Keep watching and thank you so much for taking the time to photograph and research. Best wishes
    Themis Jones

    ReplyDelete

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