‘I’m a micro-artist from Birmingham who created world’s smallest poem for Remembrance Day’

A micro-artist has written the world’s smallest poem after etching ‘In Flanders Fields’ on a speck of his war hero grandfather’s military badge - in the eye of a needle.

Graham Short, 77, spent 300 hours over two months painstakingly engraving the 405 letters from the famous First World War poem on a miniscule piece of metal.

Each tiny word is just 30 microns in height - a third of the width of a human hair which is 100 microns. The miniature masterpiece, which is invisible to the naked eye and can only be read using a microscope, is now valued at between £50,000-£60,000.

Graham decided to complete the work in time for Remembrance Day to remember his grandfather Wiiliam Farmer, who was a sergeant in the Coldstream Guards. He enlisted aged just 14-years-old and was one of 250,000 teenagers who became known as “the boy soldiers’ when they joined the call to fight.

Graham inherited his grandfather’s military cap badge following his death in the 1960s and still wears it every day in his honour. To complete the artwork, the pensioner first shaved a speck of metal from the badge and inserted in the eye of a needle.

He then etched every word from John McCrae’s 1915 poem - which inspired the use of poppies as a symbol of Remembrance - using an ultra-fine Victorian needle.

Graham, of Bournville, Birmingham, said: “It’s the world’s smallest poem but with perhaps the biggest message.

“My grandfather was in the Coldstream Guards during World War One. He was known as a boy soldier - there were around 250,000 of them during the First World War I understand.

“He was only 14 when he enlisted. You had to be 18 to sign up but 19 to go and serve in battle - but many recruitment officers turned a blind eye to this. It might be something to do about the bonus they used to get.

“He left his cap badge to my mother, his eldest child. She passed it on to me before she died and I wear it every day. I have shaved a microscopic speck of metal from the badge, and inserted in the eye of a needle, on which is engraved ‘In Flanders Fields’.

“My grandad passed away around the 1960s when I wasn’t very old myself. But I do remember visiting him at his home in Blackwood, South Wales. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to him. It is a poem famously associated with the Great War.

“It marks his service as well as the sacrifice of so many others at that time.”

Graham takes beta blockers to lower his heartbeat to just 20bpm and works between beats to ensure his hand is as steady as possible. He also takes Botox injections around his eyelids to stop involuntary muscle movements disturbing his concentration.

The grandfather works exclusively at night when traffic noise and vibrations are at a minimum.

He added: “My technique hasn’t changed but I gave up my workshop and work at home now. If its a bigger piece I can do it in the day but this was a tricky project. The letters are about 30 microns high and its about a third of the width of a human hair which is 100 microns.

“I worked for five hours a day for two months - I did have to restart a couple of times because one slip ruins the whole thing. About 30 minutes after taking the pills my heartbeat drops to 25bpm. I do a lot of swimming so I can keep fit so I can keep on taking it.

“I also work late at night when most people are at home in bed and there isn’t much noise or vibrations from traffic outside. One passing lorry can be feel like an earthquake.”