A Polish war veteran's heartfelt gratitude for the freedom he has enjoyed on British soil has resulted in an epic artistic undertaking which took more than six years and thousands of pounds to complete.
Tadeusz Slowikowski, 84, a resident of Ilford Park Polish Home, was forced to flee Poland 65 years ago after Nazis threatened to incarcerate his mother in retaliation for his resistance work with the underground Partisan movement.
His subsequent opposition to the post-war communist regime continued to make returning home impossible. Now he has demonstrated his thanks to Britain by producing a portrait of the Queen using more than 2.5 million tiny glass beads, each individually strung on fine threads.
He even designed and built the tiny loom-like structures needed to produce the separate panels which he then stitched together to make the completed image.
He hopes the finished work will be bought by a museum or other public body and the funds raised used to help others. He said: 'I spent in England most of 65 years. 'When I came to this place here [Ilford Park] in 1999, I found myself with time on my hands and I considered the idea of committing myself to leaving something behind.' With his voice breaking, he added. 'And, of, course, showing gratitude for harbouring me for all this time. What else could I do but make a picture of the Queen?' After the Nazis had put a price on his head, Mr Slowikowski undertook a perilous walk across Europe to Marseilles. There he stole a fishing boat and made his way down to North Africa to take on the enemy.
But his boat was sunk by German aircraft and Mr Slowikowski was forced to cling to the wreckage for 13 hours before being spotted by a British convoy. He subsequently joined the British Army and after the war settled in England, from where he earned his living as a freelance writer and traveller.
During his travels he met the artist Picasso, but was not impressed. 'His pictures, I wouldn't give you a penny for,' he said. 'You don't even know which way to hang them.'