Mission accomplished: War veteran paints portraits of all 457 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

A Bosnian War veteran has painted the portraits of all 457 service personnel killed fighting in Afghanistan as a lasting tribute to their sacrifice.

Ex-Soldier Kev Wills, 46, who also served in Northern Ireland, has told The Telegraph that he launched the project two years ago after painting the portrait of Royal Marine Corporal David O’Connor, who was killed in action in 2012.

The father of four, from Redditch, Worcestershire, said: “I saw a picture of David and thought I’d paint it as a practice piece. I then got in touch with the family and asked if they would like it. They were delighted and put the picture on social media. A few more families contacted me and asked if I would do the same for them. It all began by word of mouth.”

Mr Wills, a former private in the Royal Logistics Corps, who works for Jaguar Land Rover, developed his love of art when he was a schoolboy and after gaining a GCSE in art and design.

He joined the Army aged 16 and served from 1994 to 2000. When he was posted to Bosnia, just weeks after completing his recruit training, he was the youngest British soldier serving in the war-torn country.

Although he paints with oils and water colours, the Army veteran now produces his work digitally using a 32-inch (81cm) electronic tablet.

Over the past two years he has spent most weekends and many evenings working on the portraits, which he said had required a great deal of patience from both his wife and children.

He added: “After I completed David’s portrait, another veteran got in touch and asked me how many portraits I was planning to paint and how I was going to pay for the postage and framing. I hadn’t really thought of that so he set up a website which people could donate to and it was at that point that I decided to paint all 457 portraits of the fallen. That was two years ago.”

Mr Wills has also painted pictures of Captain Tom Moore and the King, and is now getting commissions from across the armed forces. He has even been contacted by a member of the Canadian parliament asking whether he has any plans to paint portraits of Canada’s fallen troops.

He said: “The feedback from the families has been incredible. Most are completely flabbergasted and they are just so happy that their loved ones haven’t been forgotten. Some people don’t want the pictures and that’s fine – I never ask why.

“But it has been challenging and emotional. I’ve spoken to a lot of the families and they were obviously still desperately sad and they would often be in tears.

“Some of the soldiers who died were only 18 years old. They were just starting out in life. There were times when I had to step back for a week or two just to give myself a break because emotionally I found it quite hard. I sometimes felt I was being intrusive but all of the families were so delighted to receive the paintings. 

“But it is very upsetting when you are speaking to the mother of a young 18-year-old who is still effectively in mourning for her son.

“I always reminded myself that those who died all made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country and the least I could do was to keep their memory alive.”

Although Mr Wills has painted all the pictures, he still has more than 100 to print out and frame.
He said: “It will take some time to frame them all but every family of a fallen hero will be offered a picture.”

Derek Hunt, a former soldier whose son Nathan took his own life in 2018 after being diagnosed with PTSD following service in Afghanistan has also received a portrait.

Nathan, a warrant officer in the Royal Engineers, served with Prince Harry in 2008. He returned to Afghanistan again for a second tour but his mental health deteriorated after witnessing a series of traumatic incidents.

Treasured memento

Derek, 72, said: “My wife and I were moved to tears when I received the portrait. It is an absolutely wonderful thing for Kev to do. It has pride of place on our wall and has brought us so much happiness. It really is a treasured memento.”

Mr Wills added: “As far as I am concerned, Nathan died of mental wounds he sustained in Afghanistan. I’m just happy that my work has brought some joy to people who have lost so much.”

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Johnny Mercer, said: “I want to thank Kev for his commitment to honouring all those who died in Afghanistan, some of those I served alongside. These paintings will provide much needed comfort to the families of those who died and will reassure them that the sacrifice their loved ones made was not in vain, and that they haven’t been forgotten.

“I am eternally grateful to all of our servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to enjoy the freedoms we do.”