Campaign launched to bring back famous sleeping dragon

The red dragon became a well known and loved feature of the town until it left on November 11, 2018 – the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The dragon had been in situ for four years representing the 35,000 lost Welshmen from the First World War.

Since then it has been in the garden at Bluefoot Forge, Stapleton, home of blacksmith and creator Pete Smith.

Pete has been pestered for the dragon’s return since it left.

He said: “I held out for four years but eventually I was defeated by Ed Wilding who simply said “we need it back Pete”. I had no answer.

“So a plan has been hatched for the dragon’s return and it looks like he will return sometime this summer if the fundraising is successful.

“If it isn’t, then the Sleeping Dragon will become a climbing frame for a blackberry patch at Bluefoot Forge.”

But if the dragon is to return, some significant work is needed to get him looking his best again.

If the money is raised, a labour force of six people will strip the existing covering off the dragon back to the steel armature.

The armature will be sandblasted and galvanised. New galvanised rabbit wire will be stretched to fit the armature using about 3000 zip ties.

The resin team will then take over to bond a thin skin to the rabbit wires and build up the shapes with further coats of heavier glass matting.

After a couple of weeks curing right through, it will be painted with marine paint and then the finished dragon will return to site and be fixed down to a secure flagstone foundation.

Pete added; “The budget includes a small sum for ongoing maintenance to secure longevity.”

The memorial on Corton roundabout was created as a temporary installation for the centenary of World War One, occupying its site from August 3, 2014, until November 11, 2018. The dragon slowly embedded himself into people's minds and became part of their environment.

It had to leave in 2018 as part of the interactive element of the piece designed to provoke a real sense of loss, an emotion endured by millions in those war years.

Its leaving ceremony attracted hundreds of residents and included The Last Post, the reading of a short poem commissioned for the day, and the singing of the Welsh National anthem.

The dragon was then loaded on a trailer being pulled by shire horses, and it led a torchlight homecoming procession along Presteigne bypass, to the Memorial Hall where there was a homecoming party.

On that day the dragon’s role changed from a simple memorial to representing those coming home from the war with all the pageantry and joy of returning loved ones one might expect.

A JustGiving page has been set up to raise the money, to help visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sleeping-dragon