An English tree surgeon living in Germany has caused uproar by turning his garden into a quirky tribute to Britain – complete with a 52-ton tank on the lawn.
Gary Blackburn has also installed a red telephone box, post box and model cows painted red, white and blue.
Life-sized models of Queen Elizabeth II and a corgi sit inside his ‘Robin Hood’ log cabin, where there are swords and suits of armour on the walls.
On the roof is a model of a propeller plane – though Mr Blackburn has not yet been able to get his hands on the real thing.
Gary Blackburn has caused uproar by turning his garden into a quirky tribute to Britain – complete with a 52-ton tank on the lawn
To complete the scene there is a giant tea set, plus an original lime green Mini bearing the image of Mr Bean
Gary Blackburn has also installed a red telephone box and post box in his garden
To complete the scene there is a giant tea set, plus an original lime green Mini bearing the image of Mr Bean.
Mr Blackburn recently added yet another item to the collection – a three-wheeled Reliant car like that driven by TV wheeler-dealer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses.
The 53-year-old, who lives in the Rhineland town of Kretzhaus, 20 miles from former West German capital Bonn, said he assembled the British scene as a reaction to the Brexit vote in June last year.
He told local journalists: ‘I’m English. We may be somewhat quirky.’
But some locals have failed to see the funny side. The scene has sparked complaints from residents in the surrounding area and even criticism from a German MP.
Mr Blackburn, who moved from Lincolnshire 32 years ago, said: ‘When Britain voted for Brexit I decided to make my own little Britain here in Germany.
‘For me the tank is a sign of peace. I have decorated it with a lot of poppies and white doves.
‘The poppies stand for freedom and peace in England and commemorate fallen and injured soldiers during the past two world wars.
‘Two neighbours want it removed, but at the moment all is fine because the Interior Ministry recognised that the tank is demilitarised, stands on private property and is not visible from the streets.’
The 53-year-old, who lives in the Rhineland town of Kretzhaus, 20 miles from former West German capital Bonn, said he assembled the British scene as a reaction to the Brexit vote in June last year
Some locals have failed to see the funny side and the scene has sparked complaints from residents in the surrounding area and even criticism from a German MP
Model cows painted red, white and blue lie around the grounds of his property
Life-sized models of Queen Elizabeth II and a corgi sit inside his ‘Robin Hood’ log cabin, where there are swords and suits of armour on the walls
Mr Blackburn, who moved from Lincolnshire 32 years ago, said: ‘When Britain voted for Brexit I decided to make my own little Britain here in Germany’
Mr Blackburn hopes to attract even more tourists to his ever-expanding garden display and has provided a guestbook for passers-by who stop to take a look around
Although Mr Blackburn says he has welcomed visitors curious to see his display, the Bonn-based General Anzeiger newspaper has carried less-then complimentary stories.
‘Conflict in Kretzhaus – tank displeases the neighbourhood’, read one of its headlines.
Ellen Demuth, an MP from the ruling Christian Democrat party, told the newspaper: ‘Tanks are used in so many wars, which makes a mockery of all the victims.’
Frau Demuth said she had been made aware of the situation after a complaint from a resident about the Centurion tank.
The tank is of a type that entered service in the Cold War and Mr Blackburn bought it from Switzerland.
The State Interior Ministry backed him, saying the tank’s position on display did not breach the country’s War Weapons Control Act.
‘The tank stands on private land and is neither driving nor operational,’ said a spokesman.
The tank is of a type that entered service in the Cold War and Mr Blackburn bought it from in Switzerland
Mr Blackburn said: ‘My forefathers died in the First World War and this a tribute to them and to peace and freedom.’
Mr Blackburn said he had not received any contact from Frau Demuth herself
Although Mr Blackburn says he has welcomed visitors curious to see his display, the Bonn-based General Anzeiger newspaper has carried less-then complimentary stories
Mr Blackburn recently added yet another item to the collection – a three-wheeled Reliant car like that driven by TV wheeler-dealer Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses
He added: ‘The poppies stand for freedom and peace in England and commemorate fallen and injured soldiers during the past two world wars’
Mr Blackburn said he had not received any contact from Frau Demuth herself.
He said his wife Monika, 38, regularly decorates the tank with fresh flowers and beguiled tourists pull up in a steady stream outside to take photos of the bizarre garden display.
Mr Blackburn told how the idea for acquiring the tank came after he saw one while working on a farm – and that its purchase fulfilled a childhood dream.
He said: ‘When I was three years old, my father gave me a model of the Centurion tank. I could not resist.’
Mr Blackburn is unperturbed by the adverse reaction. The father-of-six said: ‘I refuse to let this negative energy get to me.’
One of the original Trafalgar Square phone boxes at the curiosities collection
Peace doves are pictured atop a demilitarised Centurion tank previously owned by the Swiss army
A wooden model can be seen placed outside ‘Robin Hood’s hut’
An oil painting of Queen Elizabeth in ‘Robin Hood’s hut’ – which is full of British trinkets and curiosities
The tank, built in 1953, has seen no action and came from Swiss stocks at a cost of £28,000.
Mr Blackburn hopes to attract even more tourists to his ever-expanding garden display and has provided a guestbook for passers-by who stop to take a look around.
He said: ‘People (have) put only nice things.’
The tree surgeon, who trained at Merrist Wood College, in Surrey, and has worked in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, runs a company called Baumdienst Siebengebirge – which translates as the Seven Hills Tree Service.
The company has grown considerably and now operates in a large area of the Rhineland, employing a staff of 20.
Frau Demuth, the Rhineland-Palatinate state MP, recently tabled a question in the local parliament saying the tank was ‘a serious mockery of war victims’.
But Mr Blackburn said: ‘My forefathers died in the First World War and this a tribute to them and to peace and freedom.’
The Centurion was a main British Army battletank of the post Second World War period.
It was in production up to the 1960s and in service until the 1980s seeing action in Korea, the Suez Crisis and Falklands.