MEMORIES

Stephen Lock · Subject: Re: MEMORIES Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:21 am

bob wrote:

Hi Stephen.
I was with 5 Armd Wksps in Salamanca Barracks ( Fort York I think it would be )The one with the 2 churches outside the gates.The churches look like they are houses now but I cann't be sure.The guard room is a Schnell Imbiss.Warsteiner have a distribution centre there as well .

I keep getting which fort became which barracks confused...I think Salamanca was the former Fort York, but I see Hardrations thinks it wasn't.

When I was in Soest in 73, having returned from Canada to work for a German construction company (dreadful job, btw), I knew several of the squaddies from Salamanca. A young woman I chummed with, and whose family essentially adopted me, dated a couple of them, one quite seriously and through her, that was how I met the guys. Most of them were okay fellows, a few were trouble,though -- like anywhere.

Yes, I believe at least one of the churches is now a private home. I know one of the churches down in Deilinghofen outside of Hemer has been converted to a private home...which I think is rather cool.

I had to chuckle about the guardhouse becoming a schnell imbiss. Structurally, that would pretty much be a perfect fit. Given the tendency for soldiers, to say nothing of the teens, to eat far too many bratwurst or currywursts, it is even more appropriate.

What is pretty much perfect, in my opinion, is Warsteiner Brauerei having a distribution centre there. Of course! Vast amounts of Warsteiner, along with Veltins and a few other brands, were consumed, either on site or off, so this is perfect! LOL

bob wrote:

I was there 1986/88. We lived at 9a St Lorenz Weg just behind the NAAFI .
Went back in 2007 for a visit. The MQ patch is a mess , over grown bushes, pot holes in the road. Our MQ had a bloody hooka (?) pipe in the kitchen window.I think its full of immigrants. That was the second time the wife burst out crying. She wouldn't stay and take photos but I took some of the barracks.
We are going back but it won't be until 2011.Soest was a good posting.

Ahhh...you were there after me then, over a decade. I am of course quite familiar with St. Lorenz Weg (like all the streets in the MQs, it is a Canadian name. In this case a Germanized version of St. Lawrence, a reference to the river stretching in from the Atlantic, through New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario and a major "player"in early Canadian history).

I lived at 10-A Kanadischer Weg, right behind the heating plant.

I've heard the former PMQs are now largely immigrant, just like the ones down in Hemer as well. Mainly ethnicly-German Russians, East Germans and, I am guessing, Yugoslavs and Turks. Too bad about the state of the area; potholes I could live with but the overgrowth of vegetation is just pure neglect.

So many of our (both Canadian and British) holdings have been allowed to go derelict. It's a real crying shame, it really is.

The actual units, or flats, are quite large by German standards. The one we lived in on Kanadischer Weg was a 2-bedroom in a 2-storey block. My room was a bit small -- enough room for a single bed (with a 'pull out' on the underframe), a bureau/chest-of-drawers, a "schrank" or wardrobe and a desk/chair. Very bright though.

The living room/dining room area was comfortable and quite roomy. We of course had the Canadian MQ furniture which was quite bulky and heavy but solid, quite unlike the balsawood you bunch got saddled with!

I have no doubt any families moving into these former MQ's would think themsevles quite lucky as other "wohnungs" of comparable age were nowhere near as large or if they were, they wee very expensive.

During one of my many 'Net searches re Soest, I came across a real estate site and some of the units in the old MQ area were listed. All in all, they were going for a reaonable price,especially compared to the prices being asked for the pokey, although interesting, owned flats in the half-timbered houses in the inner city/old city. I forget the price range,but seems to me the former MQ's were going for 90,000euros. Of course, some of the units were also rentals...probably a significant number were.

I've seen photos of the Soest PMQs taken by both Canadian and British who have gone back and, all in all, the area didn't look too bad. Certainly better than the former PMQs in Hemer which look very grey and dismal and rather 'slummy.' But then, the Soest PMQs were always "better" than the Hemer ones, even under the Canadians. I suspect since Soest was the Canadian HQ for the Brigade, various monies for the upkeep etc of holdings was channelled to Soest first and Werl and Hemer and Unna after. Perhaps not, but it seems logical to me (in an Army sort of way).

When I was living in Soest in '73 I spent a fair amount of time visiting friends in the PMQs. Even then, sad to say, the area was starting to go down a bit. These buildings are, after all, nearly 50 years old. Hehehe, we all start to slide a bit at that age!

Hardrations · Subject: Re: MEMORIES Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:33 am

The former Protestant Chapel in Fort Prince of Wales is now a sheet metal shop with living quarters in the top half for

the owner and family.[img]The owner and wife, she is Irish he of course is German. They are quite friendly to those who have been posted there and are willing to let you have a look around.[img]

Hardrations · Subject: Re: MEMORIES Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:40 am

So while I'm at it, here is the German newspaper slant on the day they demolished the Catholic Chapel in Fort McLeod in Deilinghofen.