Banksy Roofer Commemorates Fallen with Slate Poppy Roof

THE ROOFER who shot to fame when he wowed the world by reproducing Banksy’s famous girl with a red balloon on a roof, has now helped remember the fallen with a permanent poppy design slate roof.

Dubbed the ‘Banksy Roofer’, Gary McIntyre, together with colleague Connor Farmer, both from Artisan Roofing, are delighted with their 7 metre long red slate poppy, which is Gary’s biggest roofing design yet.

Poppy Roof

The poppy design was created by Gary in SSQ slate and features the silhouette of a soldier centred in the poppy’s black stamen. The poppy is picked out in a terracotta colour, against the rest of the roof completed in SSQ’s anthracite Riverstone slate.

All the materials were donated free of charge, valued at a total of £26,000.

Gary says he was looking for a roofing project large enough to accommodate the design for some time. Then, when community centre, the Hub, on Wimberley Way in Inverness needed a re-roof he knew he had found the perfect site.

Colleague Connor Farmer, who served in the 3^rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (formerly the Black Watch) for 13 years, spoke to his commanding officer Major Paddy Marshall. The officer approved the idea for a permanent tribute to those who make the ultimate sacrifice in the armed services and gave his support to the project.

Gary McIntyre (left) and Connor Farmer

Design Calculations

Gary started sketching out his design and explained that then the real work of calculating how the roof would be laid out started. This was no mean feat as each slate needed planning and of course the design must result in constructing a watertight roof.

The silhouette of the soldier at the centre of the design was the hardest part of the roof to construct, said Gary: “We did that off-site because it is very time-consuming as the work is very intricate, all intricate cuts were done by hand. We wanted to make sure everything married up nicely.

“There’s a fair bit of planning that goes into it to make sure everything works but we are roofers first and we wanted to make sure the roof also kept water out.”

The next step was to approach various companies to obtain the materials and Gary was gratefully amazed by all their generosity. Apart from SSQ donating all the slate, Jewsons in Aberdeen delivered it to site free of charge. Safe Access donated the scaffolding, while AK Scaffolding erected it free of charge. Balfour Property Maintenance took care of the roofing felt, fixings and lent the labour of two men to help complete the roof in time for Remembrance Day.

Work started on 3^rd October well in time for the 11^th November completion date, or so Gary thought. However they had Storm Babet to contend with which slowed work down but the interest and encouragement from the local community spurred the roofers on to complete the roof on time.

The giant poppy is now a permanent tribute to the armed services.

Gary commented, “It fills myself and Conor with so much pride to be able to do something like this for a wonderful cause and we are delighted with all the positive attention and feedback we have received from the general public and Army families from Inverness.”

Completed on Friday 10^th November 2023, the roof was the centrepiece for a Remembrance Day service led by Rev. Geoff Berry.

Major Marshall commented, “Every Remembrance Day we remember our warriors but this is a permanent reminder. Now people who pass by the building will remember them regardless of the day of the year.”

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