A chemical firm has commissioned Manchester City’s ‘mosaic man’ to create a special commemorative piece to mark the knighthood and achievements of Captain Sir Tom Moore, and all key workers who have contributed to the UK’s national pandemic efforts.

Liverpool-based Palace Chemicals, which is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of building products in the UK, has a long-standing relationship with Manchester mosaic artist Mark Kennedy and has supported him with products to make some of his most famous works. They include a Manchester City mosaic signed by the team, which raised over £26,000 for homeless causes at Vincent Kompany’s testimonial dinner last year.

Managing director at Palace Chemicals, Charles Clapham MBE, said: “We wanted to do something to acknowledge not only the work of Captain Sir Tom and his knighthood later on today, but all key workers, including our fantastic team here who are doing their part to help keep our customers safe and to ensure continuity of supply.

“Captain Sir Tom is a true symbol of the hard work and dedication shown by so many and it’s great to have something to commemorate our collective spirit. There have been other fantastic stories of individual and community fundraising efforts around the country for our NHS teams and we wanted to do our bit to help.

“The clapping was a great idea for everyone to show their appreciation for the key workers, but we knew that couldn’t go on indefinitely, so to be able to put our name (along with Mark Kennedy) to this piece, we would hope that it would be used as an ongoing symbol of their achievements throughout these times of adversity.”

Mark Kennedy, who has previously created mosaics of Joe Hart, Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure, said: “I was contacted by Palace Chemicals and asked to create this latest piece. Captain Tom is exemplifying the efforts by everyone helping us get through this. The artwork has been a labour of love and I have worked tirelessly on it over 12-hour shifts. Our hope is that this helps to raise even more money for the heroes who have helped our entire national effort.”

The mosaic took over 84 man hours and thousands of tiles to complete and has been donated by Palace Chemicals to the Captain Tom Foundation, which will be arranging a public exhibition for the artwork once the pandemic is over. The business hopes the piece can be sold or auctioned to generate even more money for the foundation’s good work.

Charles said: “We believe that many people will see the mosaic as a testament to what it stands for – hard work and determination in the face of adversity, as so many in society (including our own team) have demonstrated.

“It’s also a fantastic testament to the quality of our adhesives and grouts and also to Mark’s creativity and skill. We hope it contributes in some way to raising money for good causes.”