Where has everyone gone?

I've popped back in for a look every now and then and can't help from noticing that there are fewer posters than there were before. Has old age eventually caught up with some of us? Whatever happened to the lad who created this site?

My feelings exactly! I also think that age has caught up with a lot of us since I first "signed on" twelve years ago next month. I'm 82 now, and came back to Canada in 1965, so that gives some indication.

Also, social media has evolved to the point where forums are more or less obsolete. Everyone seems to be tweeting or whatever nowadays. Personally, that's not my thing at all, and I still look forward to reading this forum. We had good times in BAOR, and I love the "remember when" stories.

AND WONDER OF WONDERS! I'VE BEEN PROMOTED TO MAJOR!!! THE DRINKS WILL BE ON ME IF YOU CATCH ME.

Hi Recce! Yes, it does look quite spartan in here as far as posters go. It's a shame really, but 'instant' responses are where it's at nowadays. There was a Canadian guy who posted regularly here over the years, he was the son of a Canadian soldier serving in Werl. Cant remember his name, but I think he stopped posting a few years back. Anyway, I remember your nickname! I hope that you are fit and well!

PS....there are 53 people viewing the forum as I type. Not including three bots!

Rocky wrote:

Hi Recce!  Yes, it does look quite spartan in here as far as posters go.  It's a shame really, but 'instant' responses are where it's at nowadays.   There was a Canadian guy who posted regularly here over the years, he was the son of a Canadian soldier serving in Werl.  Cant remember his name, but I think he stopped posting a few years back.  Anyway, I remember your nickname!  I hope that you are fit and well!

I think you're referring to Steven Lock who was the son of a soldier stationed in Soest back in the 4 CIBG days. We used to read a lot of his stories, but I think the last time I heard from him was a few months back when he was talking about going to a British school and the hijinks they used to get into. Where are you, Steve? Talk to us!

Hope this finds you and yours doing well, too. Thanks for asking.

The missing Canadian Brat is/was (must be quite elderly now) :



Stephen Lock
Father -- Canadian Army. Served Hemer, Soest, and Wetter
Regn Date: 2007-12-28
Last Visit: 25/12/2015, 19:32
Posts in total 937


Log In to the Site and Use the Members List function to see who has been online! sometimes there is an e mail address for personal contact BUT with the passing of time some members may well have shuffled off to a place where Matron ain't keen on Silver surfers or their connection is otherwise disrupted. The guy who started the site - that is a different story, more important that others have picked up the reins to keep the pages open, keep the stories coming in and turned this source into a point of contact/reference/interests for all manner of enquirers; veterans, historians, archivists, families, old comrades, - usually if you don't get a direct answer - someone will come along with a solution or source or point of reference fairly soon.

Some forecast (2009) Rocky! - you may have answered your own question:
 Quote:  I don't think that we are needed in Germany anymore. If the Sov's were still a threat, we'd have been moved up to Poland by now I would imagine. The reason that the Brits are still in Germany is that there isn't anywhere in the UK to house them. Once the Tories get in, I'm convinced (purely on their previous conduct), that they will move us back to the UK and then commit to cull. Their argument will be that we don't need so many tanks, etc, when the global situation no longer appears to require heavy armour. Whether that has any ring of truth about it remains to be seen. The Sov's have enough gas to threaten us with and they'll switch off the pipelines to western europe when they believe that it will advantage them, especially under the individual how now pulls the strings in Moscow. Why is there such a rush in this country for a future nuclear power source now? The British Government knows what the future may hold and needs to head any future Russian fuel threat off at the pass and they'll need to get as many reactors up and running before our own gas source depletes in its entirety.

All of this blaming America for Iraq and Aghanistan (whether true or not) isn't going to do us any favours either. The Tories know that NATO will end and are now (whether they admit it or not) prepared to allow us to enter the Euro-Army as a form of mutual defence. Once that happens America (and rightfully so) will pull the plug on us. It wouldn't appeal to the average American voter, irrespective of party, to spend US dollars on a country which has turned its back on them. The Spams may have been pulling the wool over our eyes for decades, but that aside, they've always done right by us (maybe not behind closed doors though). Once we've lost their support, I doubt that any Euro Army will be in a position to counter any Russian threat, as we can't agree on bugger all and this country's leaders of recent, have shown themselves to be nothing but a shower of duplicitous, dodgy, sneaky, lying b*stards, who'd sell their granny for a vote. Just look at Germany's reaction to Gordon Brown's plans for ecomonic recovery and note how that little frog Sarkozy didn't hang about with Gordon for too long after Merkel (Putin's Poodle) spelt it out for him. Thank God that Blair didn't get the Euro leadership.  (Macron inherited the suit super small size)

I'm not sure if the Germans are as 'Euro' as we may be led to believe. It's dog eat dog now and they certainly aren't that chuffed with the EU. Us Brits get fed on a diet of sh*t about how bad the EU is, but we fail to appreciate that we need it for trade as without trade, this set of Islands won't survive. We are being bled by immigration but that's another story and one that the Germans have plenty of experience in. Not everyone was happy about the wall coming down and the amount of Turkish immgrants that the Germans couldn't turn away in the '70s for fear of being branded fascist (bit like the UK today) wasn't palatable to many. Whether we are for or against the EU here in the UK, the one thing which is never publicised is that European union was the brain child of our very own Sir Winston Churchill, just after WW2, where he believed that it would be the only way to prevent a 3rd world war and that at the time, it would help repair the destroyed economies of thos countries involved. That's something that The Sun (the newspaper which Supports Our Boys) never tells you.

I'm sure that things will get a bit interesting in the future and towards the end of my lifetime, but I'm also sure that the Tories are not much better than the current incumbants and that in our desperation not to give Labour a lifeline which would turn this country into a dictatorship as they'd be drunk on the power, we may be inviting in the devil whom we don't know. We're sort of up sh*t creek without a paddle arent we?  "  First and last line sums it up?

Bloody hell!!  That was some prediction that!  I most definitely got the Tory/EU Army bit wrong though.  Such a shame that Brexit had to happen at all and that the scare stories of an EU Army helped fuel it.  I'll remain (as a strong remainer) away from politics and end that part of the conversation by saying that I hope that all of you who made Germany or any other EU country your home, were not affected by it.    

OK, if anybody wants to know who'll win the 4.30 next Thursday at Kempton Park, just drop me a line!

Stephen Lock, that was him. Stephen was quite prolific on here.  Interesting stories from a pads brat point of view.  I hope he's fir and well. The lad who created the site was, if I recall correctly, a Staffy in the REME?  I remember him handing over the reins to another site member some time later.  I think that the photo section is brilliant but given the dates of the later submissions, we may just have seen our last.

I managed to get back to Berlin in 2017 for a long weekend and had a tour of the old haunts and the places where I worked.  Many changes.  Some good, some not so much.   I'm planning on getting back to Sennelager/Paderborn, Minden, Bielefeld and JHQ just as soon as we are able to get back to normal jogging.  

Has the British Legion folded over in Germany or is it still on the go?  They did have a few website pages but they appear to have been abandoned or deleted.

The RBL is alive and well in at least 15 locs in former BAOR centred on Sennelager (they commemorated 100 yrs Legion in Lockdown manner inside Normandy Barracks a few days ago).
They also have a Facebook presence as District of Germany and Paderborn/Sennelager Branch:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/22431762749/?multi_permalinks=10157842608697750

https://www.facebook.com/Royal-British-Legion-District-of-Germany-149170368511341/?  

and if you really want to know the  new BFG presence is at  Sennelager and there are elements in Ayrshire Bks, MG, at Wulfen, and somewhere down South (on the snowline)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sennelagergarrisoncommunity/?multi_permalinks=2988400208150174      

https://www.forces.net/news/what-assets-do-british-forces-have-germany

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/things-to-do/membership?

If life ever returns you'll need to research a couple of things - like the Veterans' ID Card and the GE Tax concession off NAAFI purchases by Veterans in Germany - to make visits to the old haunts bearable.  The Senne Strip is no more - those emporiums you could never take your mother to  - opposite side of the road to the Commandant STC/later Gar Comd PB's desrable and fenced residence (inside the wire) is just a dirty mark in the sand - check Google Maps.  Geordie's Bar is a supermarket and parking, and without troops the supermarkets are the best source of beer and tinned Bockwurst - and only shoplifters have fights.  There is even a doctor and a dentist in practice on the Strip.

RMP Duty Room has the same Mil Extn number it used to have.  

Cheers! Saw a few changes in Sennelager during my final tour in the mob . I was up at Bielefeld but used to pop down as part of my work routine. Glad to hear that the RBL is still on the go. Jocks bar (The Zum Tower) was a dance hall of some sort and Geordies was a REWE. Malcom’s bar was still open but under different management and the Senne Eck was still going. I thinks Bonkers was shut as was the Treffpunkt. I did two tours of Sennelager way back when, but did most of my socialising in PB at what was the City Club ( long gone) the London Pub (still in contact with Zita who went on to open a night club after selling the London pub) and uncle Tom’s Kabin ( long since closed) which was owned by Chris, who’s surname I’ve forgotten but who ended up with a photography business in Barker Bks. I last saw him in Armagh when he was over photographing J Bty, 3 RHA. It is a small world. No idea what he’s doing now since Barker closed. PB is a great little town. I’d have turned civvy there had a job opportunity presented itself.

Chris Atkins  -  NOT Tommy's brother.  Probably has a collection of uncollected photos to rival the two little Germans (Gebruder Blum) who had the ID card photo contract (shop at LeMans Wall)


https://www.facebook.com/Chris-Atkins-Photography-132468426833693

Chris Atkins, that was him! Good lad was Chris. Ex R ANGLIAN as I recall. Uncle Tom's was actually one of the nicer squaddie bars in PB. Very little, if any, bother unlike the City Club where you were guaranteed to be accused of 'looking at someone's pint' on any given weekend.