Stunning mural planned for Borough Council HQ in memory of the UK’s oldest WW2 veteran

The planned Donald Rose mural on the side of Ilkeston Town Hall. Image from Erewash Borough Council.

A “stunning” seven-metre-tall mural in memory of the UK’s oldest WW2 veteran, who died last year aged 110, is set to be painted onto a Derbyshire council headquarters.

Erewash Borough Council is set to approve its own plans for a mural of Donald Rose, aged 110, who died last year and was the UK’s oldest surviving Second World War veteran.

The council wants to paint a seven-metre-tall (23 foot) mural on the side of the finance block on the western corner of Ilkeston Town Hall, adjacent to the bus stops in Wharncliffe Road.

If approved, the planned design would include a black and white image of Mr Rose in his youth, with a colour image of him during his final years, alongside a battleship, a sunset, a lone soldier, three aircraft, and a number of red poppies.

Mr Rose, who had lived in Canal Vue Care Home in Ilkeston for his final years, had been a participant in the D-Day landings and the liberation of concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in Germany, as well as serving as a Desert Rat in North Africa.

He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough by the local council in June last year and died in July, with hundreds of mourners lining the streets of Ilkeston for his funeral procession, including being escorted by more than 100 motorbikes to Ilkeston Town football ground.

The beloved veteran, originally from Westcott in Surrey, joined the Queen’s Royal Regiment aged 25 as a sniper and also earned the Legion of Honour – France’s highest award – for his service.

Naomi Allsop, activity coordinator at Canal Vue Care Home, who had become a firm friend of Mr Rose, said: “It’s wonderful such a stunning masterpiece. I was asked about having this done when he was alive a couple of years ago and I asked him what he would think of having a painting of him, and he loved the idea. 

“It’s a shame he won’t be able to see it.

“The stories he would tell were like no other. He never thought of or saw himself as a hero.”

The council said it aimed to capture the theme of “remembrance” and to “celebrate his extraordinary life and service, while also recognising the courage, sacrifice, and dedication of all members of the Armed Forces”.

It says the chosen placement of the mural “provides a unique opportunity to provide a panoramic mural which projects into the public realm and can be viewed from multiple perspectives along Wharncliffe road, strengthening sense of place”.

A council report recommending the plans for approval at a meeting on Wednesday, September 23rd, says: “While the theme of the artwork is melancholic and thought provoking, the colour scheme is warm and comforting, awakening feelings of hope and optimism. 

“The act of local remembrance is considered a civic function that is supported in principle on this important local civic building, and so by definition enhances the historical importance of the town hall. 

“Furthermore, its location on the blank wall of a modern stairwell is not considered to harm the architectural importance of the town hall as a whole. 

“As the finance block is not considered to currently contribute to the character or appearance of the area, the addition of the mural would be an enhancement to the street scene.”