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Forest of Dean mum honours armed forces with paintings

Carolyn Hinton Carolyn HintonCarolyn Hinton
Carolyn Hinton and her daughter started the remembrance wall in 2018

The mother of a RAF policewoman who served in Afghanistan and was medically discharged has created a remembrance wall honouring the armed forces.

Carolyn Hinton, from Drybrook, in the Forest of Dean, wanted to mark the sacrifices made by the military.

Her daughter Abigail, 32, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and struggles with loud noises like fireworks on bonfire night.

Mrs Hinton has added a picture of her daughter in uniform to her collection.

Carolyn Hinton Carolyn Hinton and painting of AbigailCarolyn Hinton
Mrs Hinton painted this picture of Abigail from a photograph of her during her tour in Afghanistan

Mrs Hinton, who painted a wall on her property in Puddlebrook Road, started working on the first picture in 2018 with her daughter to mark the centenary of the end of World War One and 100 years of the RAF and RAF police.

Abigail was medically discharged from the RAF following a tour of Afghanistan, during which Camp Bastion was attacked.

The 2012 assault happened when Taliban attackers dressed in American uniform came through the fence.

Abigail was on a day shift and the attack happened at night.

Carolyn Hinton Abigail and Harry Billinge Dec 2019Carolyn Hinton
Abigail met up with D-Day veteran Harry Billinge last year

She said: "Because the perceived threat level wasn't that high in Afghanistan at the time, all our body armour and equipment was at the flight line so we couldn't get it to help our colleagues."

She was told to go to sleep as she would be needed on duty soon.

"I just remember lying in my bed listening to the sound of gunfire, in this surreal situation worrying about my team," she said.

Carolyn Hinton Painting on houseCarolyn Hinton
These soldiers at the foot of the stairway to heaven link back to the original 2018 painting

Abigail stayed in the RAF but was eventually medically discharged for PTSD in 2018.

Now living in Cornwall, she is still unable to work and struggles with loud noises.

"Bonfire night and the weeks around it is particularly difficult," she said.

"When I hear fireworks I'm back in that bed, listening to the helicopters and gunfire, feeling useless," she said.

Carolyn Hinton The first of many, Carolyn and Abigail painted this soldier scene together.Carolyn Hinton
The first of many, Mrs Hinton and Abigail painted this soldier scene together

"Mum's really proud of my time in the military and tells everyone about it," Abigail said.

Mrs Hinton added: "We live on a rural single-track road in the Forest of Dean and have had lots of people passing by stop and say they enjoy seeing the changes."

Mrs Hinton said she hopes people who see the paintings will think about the sacrifices the armed forces have made over the generations.