RAF LAARBRUCH, Goch & Weeze GE

Hello All;

I just found this wonderful site by accident--I hope you won't mind an intrusion by a Yank! I am a recently retired USAF colonel; from 2006 thru 2009, I was the Director of Operations at NATO's Combined Air Operations Center 2 (CAOC2), in Uedem GE. I was lucky to make many wonderful British friends during my tour there. I lived in Goch, immediately across the street from the old (but repainted!) RAF housing area and adjacent to the old Reichswald Kaserne. The many pictures of the kaserne and housing area bring back great memories! RAF Laarbruch of course is now Airport Weeze, Ryan Air's terminal for Dusseldorf and the Niederrhein region. There are still 2 active military organizations in the area that employ British personnel; CAOC2, and the Joint Airpower Competence Centre (JAPCC) on the Von Seydlitz Kaserne in nearby Kalkar. RAF officers and enlisted troops still hold many of the key positions at both organizations are responsible for their many successes!

Thanks again for the great site!
Squeeze
Gig Harbor, Washington State, USA

tfcurrenjr

Welcome, I believe you are the first Yank to contribute to the site. A different perspective is always refreshing and interesting.

Bob

Quote :

Yank

If you had said Paki that would be racist.Is this not the same?

Welcome Colonel.

Gordon. wrote:

Quote :

Yank

If you had said Paki that would be racist.Is this not the same?

Welcome Colonel.

Which way is this going Gordon ?

Welcome Colonel, looks like we are going international

we Have brits, Yanks, Canuck, and Ozzie's

any more?

Gordon. wrote:

Quote :

Yank

If you had said Paki that would be racist.Is this not the same?

Welcome Colonel.

Always Yanks to us but surely something the Southern states call those from the North? Anyway, welcome.

Thanks for joining. Did you serve elsewhere in Europe? If so, I would be interested to hear your views.

jim wrote:

Welcome Colonel, looks like we are going international

we Have brits, Yanks, Canuck, and Ozzie's

any more?

I come from the Isle-of-Wight. Does that help?

whitehorse660 wrote:

jim wrote:

Welcome Colonel, looks like we are going international

we Have brits, Yanks, Canuck, and Ozzie's

any more?

I come from the Isle-of-Wight. Does that help?

Wooly back

Teabag wrote:

whitehorse660 wrote:

jim wrote:

Welcome Colonel, looks like we are going international

we Have brits, Yanks, Canuck, and Ozzie's

any more?

I come from the Isle-of-Wight. Does that help?

Wooly back

That hurts!!!

Careful, careful, you'll scare him away. Your northern neighbour here to help you along if neccesary tf.

Kiwis

Back to Laarbruch.

Perhaps you're interested in Laarbruch history.
As a member of the Royal Air Force Museum Laarbruch Weeze I wrote a timeline of 45 years RAF on Laarbruch.

Timeline

The book can be bought in the museum.

Hi There,

I live fairly near to Laarbruch (Nijmegen NL) and I often ride into Germany on my motorbike. Visited the museum the other week and found it extremely interesting !

Cheers
Tim

I remember Nijmegen from the 60s. We used to go shopping there once a month from Goch.
My Father was Sqn Ldr E.A. Barrett.
He was Senior officer at Goch from 1960 to about 1963.
It was a signals / multi nationality station. He had Germans, Belgians, English, Dutch and I think, Canadians working for him there.
As a teenager we often went to Laarbruch, swimming in an open air heated pool. Quite a novelty.
My fathers commanding officer was a Dutch guy who lived in a large house on top of a hill.
He was posted from there to Munchen Gladbach / Rhindhalen.
Apologies for any spelling mistakes.

Update on RAF Laarbruch:
The Museum has expanded widely.
The Astra station cinema now covers RAF Germany. There's a Canberra PR7 (WH773) on display. In the near future there will be a Hunter T.7.

It is great to read of memories of Laarbruch and Goch.  I am a "Service Family Member" and I still have flash-backs to Goch.  
My father (and entourage) moved from Oldenburg to Goch in January 1957 and we lived in Feld Strasse.  Moved back to England in August 1957, and the Transit Camp at Warton.  At this time the EE P1B (Lightning) was being Test-Flown at Warton and we could see it from the back of the accommodation huts we lived in.  Meals were provided at the canteen and each family was allocated a table to which we claimed as "personal". I seem to remember some of the service family members were able to get employed in the factories that produced Blackpool Rock.
I went to school in Laarbruch (Mr Mills was my teacher and I still have a class photo of my time there), although we did not have access to the base.  History books suggest(?) that the Canberra and the Javelin operated from there at that time.  I did not see any of them.  I am a fairly proficient modeller (plastic/wood) and this era is my favourite, so I read a bit about it.    

My father died in 1981 (and took a lot of info with him) and in the latter part of the 1990s I made a few trips to Germany with my own family, and took my mother along with us.   We spent some time in Goch and passed the old house in Feld Strasse.  We also drove past the base at Laarbruch which brought back some school memories, and then we headed off to Nijmegen.  
As was mentioned in one of the messages earlier we had a monthly shopping trip to Nijmegen and, surprise, surprise, on this occasion we did not have to stop at the border to change our money.  

I still have contacts in Oldenburg and Ahlhorn and I would like to hear from someone in Goch or Laarbruch in the future.  Time is not now on my side but I have to make the most of what I have got.

I notice that there is a museum at Laarbruch.  That is now on my bucket list.   Ahlhorn has also created a museum which will display aspects of the RAF time there.

Hopefully, this information is of some interest to you.

Gerry

Hi  Gerry

I am ex Arty (Army) but have some friends in Oldenburg - the people who are re-opening the Globe cinema and a school teacher in the secondary school. if you have older pictures (1957 ish or earlier)
there are people who would like to see how their town was then   There is also a historian in Paderborn who would ove to hear your memories of being in the British Zone.  Let me know if you would like to make contact or have memories /photos you would like to share.

Pborn4 on here - I live near Minden.