The Statues
Siegfried Pietzsch
Statue of Our Lady at Saint Martin in Roath
Siegfried Pietzsch was born and grew up in Stollberg in the Erzgebierge region of Germany, an area with a strong tradition of wood-carving. His apprenticeship as a carver was cut short by the Second World War, towards the end of which he found himself a prisoner of war in America and later in Wales. Released in 1947, and deciding to stay on rather than return to Germany, he was obliged to spend four years in agricultural work before being able to seek employment in any other capacity. As a result of some carving carried out at St Katherine’s, Milford Haven he was brought to the attention of Faith-Craft and, still working on a farm in Haverfordwest, offered a position as soon as he was able to take it up. Siegfried worked at the Faith-Craft Studios, St Albans from 1952 until its closure in 1969. He died in December 2015.