Remembrance Day: artist's incredibly detailed microscopic tribute to fallen soldiers in the eye of a needle

For Remembrance Day this year, an artist has created a unique and fitting tribute to fallen soldiers. A micro-artist from Bournemouth has created a microscopic tribute in remembrance of his uncle.

David A Lindon made the poignant tribute that features a lone soldier and a red poppy. In order to create the art, he must control his breathing and slow his heart rate as even the slightest movements can wreck his painstakingly-detailed work.

His Uncle Bill, Trooper William Lindon served in the Third Royal Tank Regiment from June 17, 1940, until he was killed in action on July 3, 1942, aged only 21 and buried at El Alamein, Egypt.

Born in Dorset, David himself was trained by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to work on complex equipment. He later worked in the aircraft industry, from the legendary Spitfire to everyday passenger airliners. He also helped produce the Eurofighter - a twin-engine fighter aircraft developed in the 1990s.

He said: "I use a variety of materials from strands of Kevlar, carpet fibres, pieces of ceramics, crushed micro pigments, precious metals such as gold and platinum and gemstones diamonds, emeralds and rubies. I use my own special tools and techniques that I’ve been crafting over the years. I am constantly remaking the tools as they break after a few hours of use which is very frustrating.

"To begin with I sketch out my designs and I usually have to make several prototypes before I begin the final version. Each piece I create can take months of painstaking work before I am happy with the result. Since November 2019, I have been working hard on the technical and artistic challenges of micro art. Mixing the colour pallet is a craft all on its own. Some colours appear to change under the gaze of a powerful microscope, it takes dedication and skill to select the correct tones and textures for each piece of art.

"It takes hundreds of hours and superhuman dedication to make a single piece of art but seeing the look on people’s faces and their reactions makes it all worthwhile. It is no exaggeration to say that everything connected with making microscopic art is hard and complex. I must slow my breathing down to steady my hands. I keep my heart rate as low as possible as a single twitch from my fingers can wreck months of work."

Other unique Remembrance tributes this year include huge poppies drawn beside the M8 in Scotland and poppies on a beach in Northumberland.