Bad Oeynhausen 1953

Corporal Geoff Smith 1 Corps HQ REME

I was attched to the 1 Corps Defence Company ( MSO - Mixed Service Order) and was billeted on the corner of Victoria and Herforder Str.

So if any one was in Bad Oeynhausan during that period, I would like to hear from them.

I was Geoff, but as an Army Brat. My Dad was a LF and worked somewhere in the HQ.

I used to do duties at the old receiver site in Bad-O during the period 1952/3. Also used to be a frequent visitor to the Naafi in the Kurhaus. Also caught the night train to Berlin a couple of times from Bad-O Haupbahnhof. I was a short distance away in Harewood Barracks - Herford.

Jimsigs1

Great to find that someone else was in Bad'O at the same time as myself. I was attached to the 1 Corps HQ Defence Company (MSO) and lived above a shop opposite the station.
As a regular to the Naffi, some great nights were enjojed in the Corporals Club.
When the unit was moved to Rippon Barracks in Bielefeld in the latter part of 1953, I would return to Bad'O at the week ends and had a bed in the Signals unit.

Hi Geoff,

Nice to hear from you and your stories of old Bad-O. Here's a picture of me at the time taken inside the Naafi Kurhaus by some German photographer who was doing the rounds for a couple of DM. Remember the old DM12 to £1 & sixpence. We were only allowed to change £1 of our Bafv's, out of my £3. 3s.6d. Pehwww ! what a lot of money.
Went back a couple of times to Herford & Bad-O in the 1980's and had a look around. My middle Son was in the R Sigs stationed at 7 Sig Regt and had married quarters just outside bad-O. I was also in 7 Sig Reg (the old 1 Corps Sig Regt in our day) in 1963-6.

Jimsigs1

I've got one of the 'British Army of the Rhine' shoulder badges(crossed swords one).. For Sale....

Due to put it on Ebay this coming Sunday eve!

Spent 6 weeks in Bad 'O' on upgrading course HQ BAOR and was billeted in a requisitioned civvy house at 2 Charlotten St ... also great memories of the Cpls Club at the Kurhaus, what a great old building .. best part was coming off a night shift and dropping by the Spa for a long soak in the wooden tubs of mineral water ... boy could I use one this morning.

Len (Ciphers)

Alan,

I have 4 or 5 of the old BAOR flashes. A couple of them are the embroided versions which I purchased from a little Army & Navy store outside the Strand Palace Hotel. Could also from there purchase woven ties, American style officers shirts etc. Got caught once for wearing one of those ties at the Hook of holland by those lousy RAF police waiting for my Red train to Herford. Our OC dismissed the charge asking me if I had any spare woven BAOR flashes, which of course exchanged hands.


Jimsigs1

Hi Len,

I couldn't agree more with you about the great nights at the Corporals Club in the Kurhaus; Just wondered if you were there when the lad (name Iv'e forgotten) played the piano. He could certainly set the place alight.

I was in Bad'O during 2003 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary, but how the the old Kurhaus has changed.

Geoff

As I said, I was only in Bad-O for about 6 weeks around August '53 and there was a lance jack from the RCMP who occasionally played piano there. I also ran into him in Soeul, Korea in 1954 where I heard him playing in the Sally Ann, I heard him first as I was passing the club as he had a distinct George Shearing sound, so I went in and said Hi.

Len (Ciphers)

As I said, I was only in Bad-O for about 6 weeks around August '53 and there was a lance jack from the RCMP who occasionally played piano there. I also ran into him in Soeul, Korea in 1954 where I heard him playing in the Sally Ann, I heard him first as I was passing the club as he had a distinct George Shearing sound, so I went in and said Hi.

Len (Ciphers)

'oops ... RCMP indeed, confusing the Monkey's with the Queen's Cowboys (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) .. I meant RMP

Ciphers,

George Shearing, now there's a name I havn't heard for many a year. He died last year and I didn't know but he received a knighthood in 2007. His name is in the box along the likes of Charlie Kunz etc. Talking about George Shearing, I purchased a record of his at the Naafi Crown Inn, up country near the 38th parallel. Do you remember that place ?

Don''t recall the Crown up at the 38th, we were cushy down in Seoul where we had our own bar at FMA called the Temple of Ashai .. green walls with pink elephant motif.

I started it after returning from a stint in Kure with the Aussie Signals, little for me to do as we were actually overstaffed with cipher guys, so the old man said what do you want to do .. start a Cpls Club i answered. He Ok'd it and it became the place to go in Seoul .. Yanks, Aussies, Kiwi's the MP's and of course Brits .. the turnover was unbelievable.
We used to collect signage, one of the prize acquisitions was a concrete sign about 4ft x 3ft bearing the motif 'Adjutant General US Forces Korea' and the PX sign that our line crew 'recovered' from the main PX in Seoul, the Yankee MP's thought it was an authorized job and actually directed traffic around the 'lineys' .. no lie it happened. Another trophy was the British Commanding General, Brigadier South, we had his sign before he moved into his office, he actually commented on it when he visited the Club one evening.

Len (Ciphers)

Jimsigs .. this is the PX sign I mentioned, it was never installed in our club, it was too big to get into the building, so the 'liney's' took it back and dumped it at the Capitol Building .. the funny thing was we never heard a word about it

Len (Ciphers)

Ciphers,

Where was that Capitol building, seems familiar.
Talking about signs etc, we had the Rhine Army Commanders vehicle in our troop at HQ NAG Sig Regt Herford and it had four stars on it denoting his rank but was always covered up when not in company with the General. One day, we had to drive down to Dusseldorf and on the way took each others photos with the cover off revealing the stars. We then went on our way and on arrival at these barracks, they called the guard out when they saw the stars. I got a repremand for that but still think it was amusing afterall these years. Wish I had the photos now.

Jimsigs, Capitol building was up the road going south from the Main Railway Station.
It was a good looking building before the war (sorry Police Action) but from the photo below I took in '54 you can see the bomb and scars of battle on it.

Len (Ciphers)

Jimsigs .. go to



http://photobucket.com/lenpayne

Len (Ciphers)

Len,

Very interesting but I do not remember an awful lot. Only visited Seoul a couple of times.
Did you ever get to the RR leave centre at Ebisu - Tokyo ? Got a couple of photos from that period.

No never got a leave or time off during my 15 months there, but then again I was on detachment for some months in Kure with the Royal Australian Signals, working in the cipher office and teaching our Aussie friends 'lef fut, ri fut' and other sundry soldieriary movements.

Kure was a great town, the Hondori and Nakashima Streets had dozens of bars etc.
Kure House was a huge multi national all arms club and the dust ups that went on there were legendary. Brits against the Yanks, Aussies against everyone including themselves .. and then there was 'Jolly Jack' when the RN docked from time to time. Hell they were great times.
My favourite hang out was the Fuji Bar, Hondori, 2 Chome still remember the address after 58 years, and my 'special friend' there was Mariko Nakashima, 'o the days of summer wine'

Len (Ciphers)

Len,
I've always wanted to go back to Korea, especially up on the 38th parallel where we were with 1st Comwel Div. Had a look on Google some time ago and there appears to be a lot of buildings etc, whereas when we were there, there was nothing etc tents.
Let's catch the next palne Len.

This is one of my write ups I have on various postings .. you can have my seat on the plane Jim, obviously from the text below it wasn't one of my favourite postings

By the way, we have drifted from the main thread, Bad Oeynhausen .. I guess we had better behave before we get a knuckle wrapping ..

Len (Ciphers)

Korea 1954 - 1955

There was a separate unit for the Commonwealth Line of Communications. Initially it was called Britcom Independent Line of Communications Signal Squadron. It was later renamed the British Commonwealth Communications Zone Signal Squadron and included a Troop of Royal New Zealand Signalers. The excellent co-operation and efficiency of the communicators of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada working together was impressive. Many of the Signalers were either reservists or National Servicemen with no military experience.

I served with this unit from March 1954 until March 1955. I was not particularly happy there, the camaraderie of 20 Armoured Brigade was absent, it was a posting where I ‘filled in time’. With the armistice signed there was little cipher work to do and I found myself being employed as an ‘odd job man’, doing stints as a cryptographic courier between Korea and Japan, an attachment to the Australian Base Signals in Kure, Japan where I worked in the cipher office and was a part time drill instructor teaching the Aussies the new 1951 Drill Book, then it was back to Seoul where, for the lack of anything better to do, I was appointed Corporals Club manager.
After receiving a ‘Severe Reprimand’ for comments made one night to the guard commander, it was a posting I was happy to leave.

Ok Len, back to BAOR it is. Sorry folks for our gabbling on about Korea etc., as nice as it was but on balance I think the more all round postings were in Germany for me anyway.

Bin there - no T shirt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d89RtFRPjO0

Pborn4 wrote:

Bin there - no T shirt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d89RtFRPjO0

Hi all,
Interesting film; who was in charge of taking that sign down; how many men does it take, and then they dropped it
Kit bags unloaded, had army numbers 600,000 after mine; the lads with rifles were not to protect the girls, but must have been transferred from another BAOR unit; we were not issued with our own 303 until we arrived in Germany.
In 1951, during the Festival of Britain, I went on a 3 week course to Chatham, took all my kit including rifle, from the leave train at Liverpool street, I went by underground for a train to Chatham, rifle and kit bag, must have put my bayonet in my kit bag

Oh happy days, Chatham NAAFI only allowed you egg on your plate, we were used to 3.

Cheers Sapper

So there was life in Bad Oeynhausen


shortly before the off > mov to Rheindahlen