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Henry Metelmann
| Obergefreiter Henry Metelmann (deceased) Heinrich Friedrich Carl Metelmann was born on Christmas Day 1922 into a working-class family in Altona, an industrial town near Hamburg. His father, an unskilled railway worker, was a socialist. When Heinrich was 11, his Christian youth group was subsumed into the Hitler Youth, of which he was soon an enthusiastic member. Called up in 1941 when he reached 18, Henry Metelmann was posted to join the 22nd Panzer Division and was in training as Operation Barbarossa commenced in June. Shortly after the Division was sent to the Crimea for the winter of 1941 as part of Mannesteins 11th Army, fighting the first of many tank battles in the early spring of 1942. He took part in the push to the River V, and the approach to Stalingrad. But as they advanced the 1,000 miles towards Stalingrad, Metelmann – who spoke a little Russian – got to know some of the people whose homes he occupied: I fell in love with a Russian girl, although nothing ever came of it, and for the first time I began to doubt our racial superiority. How could I be better than her? His unit was nearly destroyed in the Russian pincer movement at Stalingrad in November 1942, and Metelmann only narrowly avoided being captured. Yet the reversal of the Wehrmacht's fortunes did not lead him to disobey orders. Wounded, he spent time in hospital before rejoining his unit for the Battle of Stalingrad. Detached from his unit during the chaos of the fighting, he walked west for days before crossing back into the German lines. Wounded again, he was captured while defending a small town on the Rhine. but escaped, and in early 1945 was sent to join a Panzer unit in the West defending the Rhine from the advancing US army under General Patton. Taken prisoner, Metelmann was shipped to America, where his turning point came en route to a prison camp in Arizona, when he picked up a magazine showing pictures of the piles of corpses and walking corpses at the newly liberated concentration camps. Metelmann had swallowed Nazi propaganda that the camps were merely places where unsocial elements were made to do a hard day' work. At first I said to my mates: 'Look, just because we lost the war, they blame us for everything.' But when he studied the pictures more closely he realised that they were not fabrications. Later Metelmann was transferred to England, where he remained a PoW until 1948, working as a farm labourer in Hampshire. By the time he returned to Germany, his parents were dead (his mother from Allied bombing). After just four weeks he returned to the farm in Hampshire, where was given his old job back. Later he took a job as a railway signalman and, on his retirement in 1987, Charterhouse offered him a job as groundsman. While several of Metelmann's old army comrades committed suicide, Metelmann joined the Communist Party and CND and became a committed peace activist. In the 1960s he protested against the Vietnam War. In recent years he attended all the Stop the War marches against the invasion of Iraq and protested against the American bombing of Afghanistan. Henry Metelmann died on July 24th 2011. |
Items Signed by Obergefreiter Henry Metelmann (deceased) |
  | Assault on Voronezh, Russia, 2nd - 7th July 1942 by David Pentland. (F) Price : £120.00 | Sturmgeschutz IIIF of Stug Battalion Grossdeutschland, and supporting infantry from GD Regiment 1 battle against Soviet forces defending the strategically important city of Voronezh on the Don. Combined arms operations such as this proved the value ...... | |
  | Dash to the Sea, November 1944 by David Pentland. (E) Price : £120.00 | As allied forces pressed inland towards Caen, the 21st panzer Division launched a counterattack along a narrow three mile corridor between the Canadians on Juno beach and the British on Sword. the charge led by fifty tanks of 22nd panzer regiment an...... | |
  | Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Price : £110.00 | Skillfully led by their mercurial commander, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann, the Tiger Tanks of s.SS-Pz. Abt. 101 blaze through a shattered French village in the days following D-Day, June, 1944. Their destination - Normandy! ...... | |
| | Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. (AP) SOLD OUT | Skillfully led by their mercurial commander, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann, the Tiger Tanks of s.SS-Pz. Abt. 101 blaze through a shattered French village in the days following D-Day, June, 1944. Their destination - Normandy! ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| | Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. (B) Price : £1095.00 | Skillfully led by their mercurial commander, SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann, the Tiger Tanks of s.SS-Pz. Abt. 101 blaze through a shattered French village in the days following D-Day, June, 1944. Their destination - Normandy! ...... |
  | Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Price : £150.00 | The infamous Tiger Tank, one of the the deadliest fighting machines ever built and the most successful tank ace of WWII, Michael Wittmann. Wittmanns Tiger advances towards Beauvais in June 1944 to intercept the advancing British 7th Armoured Divisio...... | |
| | Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. (Y) SOLD OUT | The infamous Tiger Tank, one of the the deadliest fighting machines ever built and the most successful tank ace of WWII, Michael Wittmann. Wittmanns Tiger advances towards Beauvais in June 1944 to intercept the advancing British 7th Armoured Divisio...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Obergefreiter Henry Metelmann (deceased) |
  | German Tank Art Prints. Pack Price : £240.00 Saving : £160 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Tiger at the Gate, Berlin, 30th April 1945 by David Pentland. Rearm and Resupply by David Pentland. | |
 | German Tiger Tank Art Prints. Pack Price : £240.00 Saving : £160 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Counter Attack at Villers Bocage by David Pentland. Rearm and Resupply by David Pentland. | |
    | Special Sale Pack of 5 Prints - 4 FREE! Pack Price : £190.00 Saving : £190 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. The Struggle for Malta by Ivan Berryman. (F) LCT 312 by Ivan Berryman. (D) Typhoons Over Normandy by Ivan Berryman. (D) Dinah Might by Ivan Berryman. | |
  | Tiger Tank Military Art Prints. Pack Price : £320.00 Saving : £210 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Kursk - Clash of Steel by Nicolas Trudgian. Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Zwieroboj - Animal Hunters - Ponyri Station, Kursk, 7th July 1943 by David Pentland. | |
  | WW2 German Armour Print Pack. Pack Price : £240.00 Saving : £200 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Preparing for the Day, the Reichswald, February 1945 by David Pentland. The Falaise Gap, Normandy, 12th - 20th August 1944 by David Pentland. |
 | Pack 844. Pack of two Wittmann Normandy tank prints by David Pentland and Richard Taylor. Pack : SOLD OUT | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : Prepare to Ram, Operation Goodwood, normandy, 18th July 1944 by David Pentland. (D) Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. | NOT AVAILABLE |
| | Pack 845. Pack of two Normandy tank prints by David Pentland and Richard Taylor. Pack Price : £180.00 Saving : £180 | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : Prepare to Ram, Operation Goodwood, normandy, 18th July 1944 by David Pentland. (D) Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. | |
 | Pack 846. Pack of two WW2 tank artist proofs by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £290.00 Saving : £110 | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : Wittmann at Villers Bocage, Normandy, 0900 hrs, June 13th 1944 by David Pentland. (APB) Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. | |
| | Pack 847. Pack of two Michael Wittmann tank prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £285.00 Saving : £95 | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : Counter Attack at Villers Bocage by David Pentland. (C) Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. | |
  | Pack 848. Pack of two special tank artworks by David Pentland and Richard Taylor. Pack : SOLD OUT | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : High Pursuit by Ivan Berryman. (C) In Them We Trust by Ivan Berryman. (D) | NOT AVAILABLE |
| | Pack 849. Pack of two WW2 tank artworks by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack : SOLD OUT | Military Print Pack....... Titles in this pack : High Pursuit by Ivan Berryman. (C) In Them We Trust by Ivan Berryman. (D) | NOT AVAILABLE |
 | WW2 Normandy German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £180.00 Saving : £170 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Barkmann's Corner by David Pentland. (C) | |
 | Crew Signed WW2 German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £175.00 Saving : £165 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Kampfgruppe Peiper by David Pentland. (E) | |
| | Crew Signed WW2 Tiger Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £185.00 Saving : £185 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Counter Attack at Villers Bocage by David Pentland. (C) | |
 | WW2 Normandy German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £145.00 Saving : £165 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Rommel in Normandy, France, 2nd July 1944 by David Pentland. |
| | WW2 German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £135.00 Saving : £175 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Preparing for the Day, the Reichswald, February 1945 by David Pentland. | |
 | German WW2 Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £190.00 Saving : £210 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Barkmann's Stand by David Pentland. | |
 | WW2 Normandy Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £145.00 Saving : £165 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Barkmann by David Pentland. | |
 | WW2 German Panther and Tiger Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £145.00 Saving : £165 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Night Drive to Manhay, Barkmann in the Ardennes, 24th December 1944 by David Pentland. | |
| | Signed WW2 German Normandy Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £175.00 Saving : £165 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Dash to the Sea, November 1944 by David Pentland. (D) |
 | WW2 Normandy Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £210.00 Saving : £130 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. The Death of Wittmann, St Aignan de Cramesnil, France, 8th August 1944 by David Pentland. | |
| | German Normandy Tiger Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £260.00 Saving : £130 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. | |
 | Crew Signed Normandy Tiger Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £355.00 Saving : £145 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Tigers in Normandy by Nicolas Trudgian. (D) | |
| | WW2 German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £230.00 Saving : £110 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Kampfgruppe Peiper by David Pentland. (AP) | |
| | WW2 German Tank Art Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £210.00 Saving : £130 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Preparing for the Day, the Reichswald, February 1945 by David Pentland. (AP) |
| | WW2 Normandy German Tank Prints by Nicolas Trudgian and David Pentland. Pack Price : £275.00 Saving : £205 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Barkmann's Stand by David Pentland. (AP) | |
| | WW2 Normandy German Tank Military Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £250.00 Saving : £90 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Barkmann by David Pentland. (AP) | |
| | WW2 German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £220.00 Saving : £120 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Night Drive to Manhay, Barkmann in the Ardennes, 24th December 1944 by David Pentland. (AP) | |
| | Crew Signed Normandy German Tank Prints by Richard Taylor and David Pentland. Pack Price : £220.00 Saving : £130 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tiger! Tiger! by Nicolas Trudgian. Dash to the Sea, November 1944 by David Pentland. (D) | |
  | Military Gallery Art Prints of Richard Taylor and Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £230.00 Saving : £180 | Military Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Holding the Line by Richard Taylor. Ardennes Offensive by Nicolas Trudgian. Ramraiders by Robert Tomlin. |
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This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com |
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