Mercer/Imphal Barracks

I have just been scrutinizing the historical occupants of Mercer and Imphal Barracks, Osnabrück, and see that there is no regiment shown as being stationed at Mercer for the period 1961 - 1963. As far as I recall (was stationed at Imphal during this time) the Royal Anglian Regiment was accommodated at Mercer while I was there. I could be mistaken, as it was fifty years ago, but the information might help to fill a gap.

I regret to say but the Mercer/Imphal Barracks is now a dog Training centre useing the original War dog kennels that were there when I was there in 1958-1961 and then again in1974-1983, and billets houseing any one traveling to the centre, the tank road outside is still there but only goes to the new housing estate about 1 Km away.

Brian

I have photos of the Barracks that I took in Aug this year not a very good sight as Roberts ,Belfast are high in weeds Blacker Barracks (RMP) is now a transit depot for barges comeing up the canal and rail unloading platforms, Prestatyn Barracks is now a Collage.

Brian

Thanks for that, Brian. I presume you were in the medical centre (I have a picture, I think, somewhere) so you may have known Chalky White and another orderly with a distinctly foreign surname, Janetta. I used to spend quite a bit of time with them, particularly Slim Janetta, as we were both mad keen on CW music. If I recall, he eventually went AWOL.

Dolmetscher wrote:

I have just been scrutinizing the historical occupants of Mercer and Imphal Barracks, Osnabrück, and see that there is no regiment shown as being stationed at Mercer for the period 1961 - 1963. As far as I recall (was stationed at Imphal during this time) the Royal Anglian Regiment was accommodated at Mercer while I was there. I could be mistaken, as it was fifty years ago, but the information might help to fill a gap.

Mercer Barracks now updated
Cheers
Steve

Is Kleine Moscow still there?

dortmund 19 bty 45 regt

jim wrote:

Is Kleine Moscow still there?

Dunno, Jim, but I lived in Kleine London for a couple of months.

I used to visit friends there whenI was back from PRS Dolmetscher

jim wrote:

Is Kleine Moscow still there?

Kleine Moscow was still there in 2007 when i left Osnabruck. As they were closing the garrison they were trying to sell the married quarters off.

Brian Roberts wrote:

I regret to say but the Mercer/Imphal Barracks is now a dog Training centre useing the original War dog kennels that were there when I was there in 1958-1961 and then again in1974-1983, and billets houseing any one traveling to the centre, the tank road outside is still there but only goes to the new housing estate about 1 Km away.

Brian

I was attached 12 Armd Wksp in the far corner of Mercer November 82 - November 85. Were you with the infantry battalion that handed over to the Green Howards? Sorry I forget who was incumbent when I arrived but the GH came out right behind me and all their MFO was lost when the freight ferry out of I think Harwich collided with a passenger ferry out of Felixstowe and sank. No casualties as I recall.

If I remember right it was DERR that were in Mercer. I went there towards the end of 1982 for the REME Corps Hockey trials and I'm sure it was them... 5th Skins were in Imphal they were getting posted out when I went to 23 Engineer Regt in 1983 , 4 RTR took over.

Yeah I was there when the Skins moved out. They had been RAC Training Regiment at Catterick when I went through Basic.

About 1995 I was consulting in Chester. Walked into the nearest pub one evening and sat and stared at the landlady wondering why she looked familiar until we got talking. She couldn't place me either.

Turned out she'd divorced her Skins husband and was now single, and we'd been next door neighbours in Dodesheide.

Where in Dodesheide...we lived on Sesame( Schleisische) Strasse .
Were you there when they found the WW2 bomb in the Freidhof next door and the whole estate was evacuated to Mercer Barracks... '84 I think ?

here are some images I took yesterday of Mercer Bks, not very pretty sight.

Brings back a few memories. I was there until November 63 (Imphal) but it's difficult to recall where things were, now.
Thanks for the pics, anyway. Interesting.

I know I am a bit late with this post but I have just come across it.

I was at Mercer barracks from 1965 - 1968 1st with 1 Queens own Highlanders and then with ! Royal Scots. It was my first posting after AAC Carlisle(62B). Those Photo's bring back some memories for me BigJock. The Milk Bar! A favorite haunt of mine with my girlfriend at the time, Marlene. I always went there on Saturday afternoons and before I went to the Schlossgarten for the Sunday tea dance. There was a band playing there sometimes who's members were all in the RE's. They were called The Gentlemen. Was the milk bar frequented by mostly REME.

My God! The Hansa Ecke. Good old Helmar. I spent many a night in there and consumed about a ton of ale. Did they serve Currywurst or did we go to the Schnelly for that which was on the corner of ellerstrasse and in der Dodesheide if I remember. I remember the Empire Kino across the road from Helmar's and how he vanished during the world cup to England without telling his wife! Didn't he have something to do with TUS haste, the local team? I can picture his wife now but can't remember what her name was.

I watched the world cup final in 66 in the Milchbar and ended up legless knocking back German white wine! I had my first ever German piss-up in Helmar's as a young 18 year old and woke up the next morning with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth!

Good old Osnatraz. The memories come flooding back over the years. I have retired now but in my last job I used to go past the town on the A1 often and drove down the old tankstrasse just to have a look.

Thanks for the Photo's BigJock

Regards Steve Dawson ex REME.

Hallo,

im writing a book over the Mercer/Impahl Barrack on Osnabrück. So, i search for Informations like pictures, plans, etc. that i can use in my book. From this time i had over 1.000 pictures (stand: 2020). As reference see my book m"Geschichtsspuren kalter Krieg in Borgholzhausen" over the dutch nike site.

Many thanks from Germany

Frank Schoof

bob wrote:

Where in Dodesheide...we lived on Sesame( Schleisische) Strasse .
Were you there when they found the WW2 bomb in the Freidhof next door and the whole estate was evacuated to Mercer Barracks... '84 I think ?

We were in Buchenstraße. 84 sounds right. Might have been 85. Alien Minor 2 was born late 84 and he was definitely trundled up the hill in the Panzerkinderwagen (huge wheels, great over cobbles) with Zero Alpha and 2-year-old Alien Minor 1.

It was right after lunch. I'm hardly back at my desk, phone rings. Zero Alpha, "We're in Mercer NAAFI, evacuated." Having been the Paymaster's nanny, she gave the green Howards' QM a lot of loud advice on what all these young mothers and children needed above and beyond an urn of tea.

Clear, back home, find the newly arrived 4RTR wife in the upstairs maisonette still home. "Oh, I heard someone on a megaphone. Though it was German electioneering and continued my afternoon nap."

Couple of weeks later, a second bomb was found outside the Estate Office. After the uproar over the previous evacuation, they lobbed it into a Land Rover and got rid. Zero Alpha relates story to her mum. "Not to worry you, but they tend to find RAF bombs in threes."

They didn't find the third bomb before I left, late 85. Had it exploded it could have caused millions of pounds of improvements.