Poperinghe,once the home of REME

A sad sight in its final days.
http://www.tvas.co.uk/reports/pdf/PBA02-43bld.pdf

The guard room looks in good nick.(no pun intended)

Gordon. wrote:

The guard room looks in good nick.(no pun intended)

Oh yes there was !

(You're not getting away with that one mate !).

Quiet you noisy Gunners , Sappers and Scaleys

Let the REME members of this site grieve in peace over past glories

The area shown at the top end of the barracks on Gallahad's link was the last to go and was the WOs and Sgts Mess, I think, and after demolition became the site of a successful pig farm. This too has gone and the area is now a housing estate known as Poppy Fields

To add insult to injury last weeks statement in Parliament confirmed that Bordon and Arrborfield REME Training units will be relocated into the new Tri Service Defence Engineering Academy based on the current RAF Lyneham (no reaction as yet from our correspendents that Fallingbostel or is it Paderborn moves to Scotland)i

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the WOs and Sgts Mess, I think, and after demolition became the site of a successful pig farm

Donning tin hat and body armour as i have a little snigger at that statement.

On Draft to Singapore in Dec. 1959 I was a bit miffed to see on Pt Orders that I was Guard Commander. Depot not my favourite place because as a Cfn in Dec 53 on Draft to Cyrenaica I was put as Guard to the Officers Car Park on Xmas eve. I was posted there at 2000 hours and forgotten about until 0600 when I dis-mounted myself!!! Because of the IRA borrowing Arms and - also forgetting!!! - to replace them we had a Guard room pantomime!!! The G.C.'s chair had an alarm!!! If one stood up then the Police station were warned that the Irish were back!!! To exercise or go to the loo one had to get someone to put their hand under your bum, hold down the pressure switch and change places!!! I KID YOU NOT!!!!
The place was just as I remember!!! I do not think the white fence was there though!!!
The Sgts Mess you write about must have been a replacement because the one we used was burnt down in the 60's. Dec. 1953 ALL the Huts were full of people on draft, the Parade ground too! Mar. 57 only half and in Dec 59 the place seemed full of Officer cadets!!!
One thing about Depot, they didn't hang about!!! You were in and out!
Ted Jones.

I recall an incident at Poperinghe, where I jumped over a high wall on the assault course and landed on the relatively hard packed sand close to the wall on the other side, doing a bit of injury in the area of my groin. During the night it pained me so much, that I had to be carted off to the MRS . I revisited the MRS next morning, and on my return to the Depot, still very much in pain, I was picked up by a CSM, "HEY YOU! CAN'T YOU LIMP BETTER THAN THAT?"

Poperinghe was also the home of the Junior Leaders Regiment, which was disbanded on the very day that I passed out at Depot. It was a joint Parade. They occupied a Spider at the very end of the camp.

Aerial view of Poperinghe
http://www.arborfieldhistory.org.uk/aerial/aerial_ref3040_5.htm

this has brought a tear to my eye, was there in 1962.

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The G.C.'s chair had an alarm!!! If one stood up then the Police station were warned that the Irish were back!!! To exercise or go to the loo one had to get someone to put their hand under your bum, hold down the pressure switch and change places!!! I KID YOU NOT!!!!

Why not just switch it off??
Or is this a REME thing about hands on bums?

Being dozy REME they never thought of that!!!Is that what the R.S. would have done?
You were a bit after my time so you may not have heard of 'Fail safe'
I don't recall REME having much of a problem with Bums but then other Corps may have but each to our own I suppose.

Sounds very impracticable to have a chair fitted with a pressure switch alarm. Human nature being what it is, i should imagine there were many false alarms.

Gordon. wrote:

Sounds very impracticable to have a chair fitted with a pressure switch alarm. Human nature being what it is, i should imagine there were many false alarms.

Safer this than someone forgetting to switch it back on!!!
I only comment on the fact and neither condemn or fortify!