RAOC STORES SECTION 23 BASE WORKSHOP REME

I joined the stores section in 1981 in PC&A on the untimely death of Col Ted Watson I then commanded the stores section until my return to the United Kingdom in 1984 going on to command the stores section at 43 District Workshop REME in Aldershot.Do you remember the pond at 23 being drained due to more mud than water or the lunch time fishermen throwing back into the mud the lunchtime catch!! will make no mention of the german language lessons nor the Saturday sports mornings still all too painful to remember have fond memories of Bill Cleasby,Harry Nicholson,Jim Anderson ,Bernard Ollie and many more kindest regards from here in the colonies(Scotland) Patsy and Dennis Kilbride

In 1972 my father, WO Victor G. Lock, worked out of Wetter as he, along with 2 other Canadian military fellows (one was Ken Gourlay Sr. but I forget the name of the third fellow...single, I remember), completed the close-out of the old Canadian Brigade Area.

I believe he worked out of 23 Base Workshop REME as it sounds awfully familiar! We lived in Iserlohn at that time.

Of course, the actual Canadian forces had by then all been transferred down to Lahr and Baden-Baden but there was still 'stuff' to wrap up, transfers of property and inventory and such like.

My father's secretary was a German woman who had worked at Wetter for many years...I can see her in my mind's eye but damned if I can recall her name. Blonde woman (dyed blonde), probably around 40 at the time, very gregarious.

I'd like to think there was 'something' of my father's presence left post-1972...records with his name/signature on them, some sort of plaque or memento gathering dust on some shelf in some office, but I don't think there would have been. Sadly, in my view, there is very little left to commemorate the Canadian Era in North-Rhine Westphalia...and certainly no awareness at all of the Canadians Who Stayed Behind (us!) or at least no official awareness. Odd. I mean, in my view -- as biased as it may be -- our still being in the area was historical. The Last of the Mohicans (okay, that might be bit of an obscure literary reference for those not familiar with North American lit LOL).

I did visit my father's office a couple of times, and can certainly see it in my mind's eye, but the pics of 23 don't look terribly familiar, apart from being rather typical brick industrial buildings.

The large wheel now sited as a memorial or commemorative sculpture...I do seem to recall that but again, it's 30-odd years ago and so who knows?