Witold Gracjan Kawalec (17 November 1922 – 24 December 2003) was a Polish-born sculptor, who worked mainly in England.

Early life

He was born in

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in 1922. Working for the Polish resistance movement during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was captured by Russian soldiers. Later he joined a Polish Army unit in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. He took part in the bitter fighting at

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...

during the North Africa campaign. From North Africa he joined the Royal Air Force in England. In 1942 he was accepted for training in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. While serving near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

he married a fellow Pole in the WRAF, Danuta Banszel. He was then posted to No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Sculpture

After the war he moved to

and continued his studies in sculpture at Nottingham College of Art. In 1953 he opened his first studio and produced much of his work in

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

. The themes of his abstract forms were influenced by his experiences during

. In 1959 he had a piece selected for the

Royal Academy summer exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

, and in 1963 his exhibition at the Drian Gallery led to his connection with the hospice movement. His best known work is the sculpture for Dame

Cicely Saunders Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders (22 June 1918 – 14 July 2005) was an English nurse, social worker, physician and writer. She is noted for her work in terminal care research and her role in the birth of the hospice movement, emphasising the i ...

’s

St Christopher's Hospice St. Christopher's Hospice is a hospice in south London, England, established in 1967 by Cicely Saunders, whose work is considered the basis of modern hospice philosophy. Legacy Among the first staff at St. Christopher's was Florence Wald, who to ...

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

. It shows St Christopher carrying

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

across the water. The sculpture was unveiled by

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Alexandra were first cousins through their fathers, King George ...

. In 1966 he created sculptures for Revd Kenneth Cook for the tops of the pillars in St. Aidan's Church, Basford, in

.''Ten messengers, being carvings of Saint Aidan's Church, Nottingham, by Witold Gracjan Kawalec'', 1977 Regency Press (London, New York) ASIN B000S66TC4 In 1976 he moved and established a sculpture garden in an orchard near

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

. He created a statue of

St Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

for

Crediton Parish Church Crediton Parish Church, formally the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him who Hung Thereon, is a prominent building and worshipping community in the Devon town of Crediton. The church is built on the site of what was the "c ...

References

Polish sculptors Polish male sculptors 1922 births 2003 deaths Artists from Vilnius Polish people of World War II Polish military personnel of World War II Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century British sculptors Artists from Nottingham {{Poland-sculptor-stub