A MURAL depicting county soldiers who fought during the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War has been completed in Hereford's High Town.

Artist Maxine Williams' painting of The Herefordshire Regiment landing in August 1915 at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli covers the boarding around the fire-damaged River Island building.

Their baptism of fire was bloody and costly, with 70 losing their lives while more than 950 were evacuated through wounds or sickness.

The mural, which includes the names of those who died, was officially unveiled on Tuesday by Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Lady Darnley.

Brigadier Martin Vine OBE said at the unveiling: "With hindsight, we can see the futility and waste of that doomed enterprise.

"However, Gallipoli was just one campaign of a vast world war, where the ultimate stakes were our nation's very freedom and survival."

There were less than 100 fit men when the battalion was evacuated in December 1915- four months after landing.

The mural was made possible through sponsorship from Hereford City Council, Hereford BID, The Becket Bulmer Fund of Herefordshire Community Foundation and The Rifles.

In August there will be further commemorations of the centenary of the Suvla Bay landings.