Friends and family at Ernst's 90th Birthday Party, 2016.

Memories of friends and relations

Marion Armitage

We are so sorry to hear that Ernst passed away in the early hours of this morning with none of his family to support him. He survived such a medical ordeal recently with such courage and strength.

I have known Ernst all my life he was part of my childhood and adult family. He always had a story to tell of the family I never met in Berlin, which was great.

According to Ernst he regularly visited his Aunt Harriet Bloch ( my grandmother) as Ernst’s father supported and advised her as her husband, Max had died in 1927. It appeared that the families had quite a close relationship.

Once in the UK, Ernst gravitated towards his cousin and aunt living with the Lennhoff family and aunt at 44 Patterson Road. He was at the time working for Smith’s clocks and attending night school to complete his education. He then became “Uncle Ernst” to a young Marion!

In 1949 his aunt died and the Lennhoff family moved to Shropshire so he then found his own lodgings in I think Cromwell Gardens. He was a frequent visitor to Westhope and Shotton, as by then his cousin and her family were his only living relative of which he was aware of (apart from his cousin in the USA).

Ernst was always held in high regard by the Lennhoff family.

We are both thinking of you and your families at this very difficult time, Love Marion

Ann, Vicky, J (on left), Marion and baby Alison, Ursel (back), Fred (front) late 1960s

Involut Jessup

Under the present circumstances we can only be thankful, if indeed he passed away peacefully. He was such a gentle and kindly soul that it was a privilege to have known him, and we are grateful, as truly you all must be, that you had that wonderful commemoration of his life week-end, just three years ago, which he could enjoy and reflect on his own life with pride.

On our last visit with Ernst he showed us his retirement home, as well as Bletchley Park and we together explored parts of Berlin in which we had lived as children - my Fasanenstrasse Home, where, as he said “he wheeled me about in my pram”.

We are truly sorry for your loss of his presence in your lives, and yet grateful that you were able to help make his last years ones of being loved and cared for.

With fond love, Involut and family

Involut and Dick visit the UK

Irene Freudenheim

Let me explain, please.

Ernst Michaelis (1926-2020) was my dearest unknown internet friend. Ernst and Federico (Fritz) Freudenheim were classmates 1938 in Berlin at the HOLDHEIM-Schule, which meant so much to them. It probably was the only bright spot in their memories of those tragic years. I cherish the 1938 class photo which was published in Berlin Aktuell and several other venues. It was, is, a strong bond between the living and the dead, if there is such a thing. To me, there is.

With deep emotion and in the hope that this message will reach your hearts too and thus our beloved ones will remain alive for many many years… Irene

Jane Barker

Thank you for letting us know, Vicky. I suppose it was inevitable, but good that it was peaceful. My thoughts are very much with you and the family dealing with all of this in such very difficult circumstances.

It was a great privilege to know Ernst, and of his achievements in several different spheres, though of course the family always came first for him.

I will pass the news on to his other St Mary's contacts.

Very best wishes, Jane Barker

Teresa Wiener

I am so sad to hear the news this morning of the death of Ernst. He has been a good friend for over 70 years, and I have many happy memories when he and Ann, my Ernst and I got together, and I know that he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

Please tell your families that they are in my thoughts and prayers.

Please keep in touch. Love from Teresa.

Teresa Wiener and Jane Barker at Ernst's 90th birthday party at St Mary's School

Ernst with Involut on a visit to the USA in the late 1960s

Guy Stobart

I was very sad to hear of the death of your Dad and taken from you sooner than anticipated by this dreadful virus.

I have been hunting for photographs but have drawn a blank. Mum I know has likewise and she is going to (she may have already done so) write to you.

I have very fond memories of your Dad. I am very grateful that he found me work in Wiesbaden in the mid 1970’s , went there for my gap year in particular to improve my German. I had done German as one of my A levels but it was not my strongest suit. Anyway, the experience did me and my German a power of good. I can remember meeting my Mum and Dad afterwards and by that time I was fairly fluent in German and English did not come to me as naturally then as the German did! I worked in a classic small/Mittelstand company that made dental equipment. I was on the shop floor assembling dental drills and more. I remember learning some physics in German but since I never did Physics at school I never knew what the English equivalents were! Although I rarely now have occasion to speak German it does come back to me very readily, so I learnt some lasting skills through the kind help of your Dad.

If I had to use one word to sum up my impressions of your dad I would say “twinkly”. He was such fun to engage with and the advent of email meant we had more contact.

He was such a good friend of my Dad and they had many strong connections not least on the engineering front.

I hope you and your families are ok in these strange times.

Stay well, Love Guy

Rosemary Stobart

My memories of Mic – always called that by us – are many and very happy. We loved coming to stay at Arkley, and enjoying some super parties. Also having Mic and your mother to stay with us. Andrew and Mic go back a long way starting from school.

The last time that Mic came to stay at Bauer Orchard, we had great fun finding the building where Mic was brought up near Ludlow, now in disrepair, but fascinating for Mic.

Guy and Jeremy are a great support for me, and I’m sure you know that Emma died last August, so much sadness, she was only 63, but her cancer was incurable.

Give my love to Jonathan and my love is with you

Emma, Rosemary and Andrew Stobart

Vicky, Lyn, Ernst and J in Spain

Lyn Bond

It was with great sadness to hear the news about your Father. Please accept our sincere condolences. How very stressful it must have been for your family to be unable to be with him at the end.

From the age of 13, Anne and I kept in close touch and I followed her life through work, Courtship
(I even 'chaparoned' them on a trip to Europe!), Marriage and Motherhood. After her death we continued to stay in frequent touch with dear Ernst both in London and Yorkshire.

Ernst was a remarkable man in so many ways. He seemed to blossom as he got older and had so many interesting adventures, stemming from the small photo of Peter Schiff. He showed great devotion and pride in the whole family and your many activities and achievements as well as taking an intelligent interest in world affairs. We often tried to put the world right between us over the phone (without much success!)

We have quite a few of Anne's pictures and intended to hand them over to you at some stage, in order to ensure that they stay in your family. Obviously at this stage they take pride of place here but I when the time comes, I will ask my family to contact you about them.

I have such happy memories of my times with your parents and enjoyed seeing you both growing up. They were true friends and we shared each other's ups and downs.

With love and sympathy to you and your family from us both, Lyn

Tim Edwards

Thank you very much for the sad news about Ernst, whom I must have known for some fifty years or more, having come to know him through my wife Pat's friendship with your mother Ann. We have one of Ann's paintings hanging on the wall in our house and I see it every day. It's very sad for me to think that all three are no longer with us. I got to know Ernst quite well and we exchanged visits from time to time, both while Pat was still alive and once or twice after that.

Ernst and I shared our interest in his mother tongue, which I had studied at university. We often discussed subtleties of meaning and interpretation at our meetings, both with Ann and after her death. In our conversations Ernst was always referring to his family and I felt that I had come to know some of them quite well. You are obviously a talented lot. I shall miss Ernst's quiet voice and his extreme modesty about his work. He must have been a wonderful engineer to have been working so long before his late retirement. He was a good friend.

It is sad that you are unable to have a funeral at this time, though i think that I might not have been able to attend. Please accept my sympathy to you and all your family. I shall send a donation to Safe Passage separately.

With my best wishes, Tim

Oenone Grant

So sorry to hear about Ernst. I got your letter yesterday. I was telling Adrian about my fond memories of Ernst almost falling off an elephant but I'm not sure if I got a photo of it because I was also on an elephant at the time! I will try and find my photos of that holiday in India in 1990. I spoke to Ernst recently just before the lockdown and he was cogent but sounding very frail and speaking quite slowly. But I gather he was regaling the nurses with his old stories(!), which makes me smile.

Hope you and your family are well. Hope to hear from you when you can arrange some memorial occasion for him.

Best wishes, Oenone

Ann's 60th birthday party, 1999, Tim Edwards, Oenone Grant, Richard and Pauline Frankel

Richard Frankel

I was always amazed that, despite your dad’s terrible start in life, he retained his lovely 'logical' (Germanic?) sense of humour throughout, and of course raised a super family successful family.

Although in some ways quite quiet, he made a big impression on us - including Issy especially- as he was a link to the horrible events of the past.....very ironic that he was claimed by the horrible events of the present.

Mel Frankel

I loved your dad, his amazing stories, his stoic cheerfulness, his engineering brain and his unstoppable pride in recounting his family’s achievements. The world is poorer for losing him, but he has left an amazing legacy in your and Vicky’s families. Sending you all our very best wishes and love as always, Mel xxx

Jim and Margaret Craig-Gray

Margaret and I are very sorry to hear of the death of Ernst. Although we didn’t know him very well, it was plain to us that he was a remarkable and principled man. I found it very interesting to hear about his experiences and his ideas. He was extremely proud of his family - and not without justification.

Patricia and Duncan

Oh Vicky... terribly, terribly sorry... Ernst was such a very special man. Our deepest condolences to the whole family and very much love, Patricia and Duncan.

Jim and Adrian on Bexhill seafront for Ernst's 90th Birthday

Antoinette Byrne and Jennifer, who cared for Ernst for many years at Bushey House

Ernst was a true gentleman, polite, intelligent and kind. He surprised all of us by working into his early nineties!

Each morning we would see him smartly dressed, walking with his bag to the bus stop to go to work.

At meal times, he would look for someone to talk to as he enjoyed a good conversation. He used to talk proudly of his grandchildren all of whom were academic and successful in their careers.

Ernst was very up to date and technically minded: he would often be working on his computer, or sending emails to family and friends.

Every time we pass his flat, we think of him and have good memories. We miss him dearly and the stories he used to tell. It was a pleasure knowing him and caring for him.