German behaviour

In NI we had a converted hangar as accomodation, each man had his own little cubicle, and the walls were covered in the colour page 3 pics from the `Today` paper, now extinct.

Disgusting!!!! Snort....

Yes,,but in a nice sort of way.

We were buying a "tageskarte" for the bus ans U und S Bahn in Hamburg when a passenger on the bus went out of her way to tell us the day pass could also be used on the water busses ans for a Hafen Rundfahrt, I thought that was nice of her.

For those of you who don't know Hamburg, The U bahn is the underground system and is very good and frighteningly clean and punctual, the S bahn is the Mass Transit system within Hamburg metropolitan area. There is also a great water Bus and taxi system operating as the city is built around a canal and river system

Better than looking at the awful pale blue the Army had painted the walls with.

The worst part, though, was the overhead heaters, if you were within 30ft of them it was like being in the jungle but further away was like being in Alaska in winter.

Speaking of heaters. Who remembers those we had which contained a calor gas bottle and burned all the oxygen out of unventilated rooms ?

I remember one report of someone who died of the resulting asphyxiation, there must've been others.

Calor gas heaters were the pits..

Central heating had been invented by the time i arrived in German barracks.

brum wrote:

Speaking of heaters. Who remembers those we had which contained a calor gas bottle and burned all the oxygen out of unventilated rooms ?

I remember one report of someone who died of the resulting asphyxiation, there must've been others.

Can't say that I remember those, in what circumstances were they issued. I remember the heaters in Trauen Camp, light the blue touch paper and retire. I had one of those in a Private Hiring in Paderborn, used to run it on Dieso.

bigmal wrote:

Central heating had been invented by the time i arrived in German barracks.

Everybody else has been discussing Northern Ireland. Keep up that man !

And here's me thinking that this thread was entitled "German behaviour"! Can't see any reference to Calor Gas heaters in NI?

Shelldrake wrote:

And here's me thinking that this thread was entitled "German behaviour"! Can't see any reference to Calor Gas heaters in NI?

I don't think the Germans would have been too impressed with our crappy calor gas heaters. Would have been totally useless in a typical German winter.

pete26 wrote:

don't think the Germans would have been too impressed with our crappy calor gas heaters. Would have been totally useless in a typical German winter.

Heaters ? Didn't have much of anything in the bad old days......... A brickette burning, solid fuel thing in each 4-bed room for which there was never any stuff to put in it. It couldn't be lit until 1700 hrs & had to be cold enough to clear out before first parade...... it always was. MT Guard, in a small bare concrete floored room in the corner of the garages, had one of those paraffin burners more suitable for keeping the chill off a greenhouse. Fumes choked anyone inside, it was warmer patrolling the vehicles and lads pleaded to be allowed to stay on stag. For the technical, I learnt that a body in a sedentary occupation, or one laying on the mattress springs in the MT Guard room, kicks out 500 BTU /hour........ . Better to double the number on guard than light the wick in that burner.

Back to German Behaviour in NI for Brum....

brum wrote:

Speaking of heaters. Who remembers those we had which contained a calor gas bottle and burned all the oxygen out of unventilated rooms ?

I remember one report of someone who died of the resulting asphyxiation, there must've been others.

Totally off thread...Brum as a former occupant of the "Knicker Factory" Lurgan NI you will know the layout in 72/73 the 3 Bde Sig Sqn lads accommodation was the top two floors and the lift did not work...the Pioneer Section were tasked with changing the Calor Gas bottles with a rope and pulley down the stairwell of the opposite side to the none working lift...roger so far over...one of the chunkies decide to jump on to the gas bottle for a ride to the bottom...his mate holding the rope suffered from severe burns to the hands and the chunky was dead on arrival at the bottom...heard the bang and thought a bomb had gone off...

[quote="steve
Totally off thread...Brum as a former occupant of the "Knicker Factory" Lurgan NI you will know the layout in 72/73 the 3 Bde Sig Sqn lads accommodation was the top two floors and the lift did not work...the Pioneer Section were tasked with changing the Calor Gas bottles with a rope and pulley down the stairwell of the opposite side to the none working lift...roger so far over...one of the chunkies decide to jump on to the gas bottle for a ride to the bottom...his mate holding the rope suffered from severe burns to the hands and the chunky was dead on arrival at the bottom...heard the bang and thought a bomb had gone off... [/quote]

I think the living arrangements had changed from your time Steve.
There were no Chunkies in situ when I was there, (probably all dead at the bottom of the stairwell !).
Apart from the gunner presence I think we had REME there. Certainly there was a FELIX unit. I used to watch fascinated as they tested out their WHEELBARROW.
They were all totally barmy, of course !

Why all this sudden angst about people wandering off-thread ?

When did this site ever stay rigidly to a particular thread ?

Good God, we've got Scaleys AND Jocks on here, they invented meandering !

Just following the guns Brum..

.Oh no!

Thats off target.

steve wrote:

brum wrote:

Speaking of heaters. Who remembers those we had which contained a calor gas bottle and burned all the oxygen out of unventilated rooms ?

I remember one report of someone who died of the resulting asphyxiation, there must've been others.

Totally off thread...Brum as a former occupant of the "Knicker Factory" Lurgan NI you will know the layout in 72/73 the 3 Bde Sig Sqn lads accommodation was the top two floors and the lift did not work...the Pioneer Section were tasked with changing the Calor Gas bottles with a rope and pulley down the stairwell of the opposite side to the none working lift...roger so far over...one of the chunkies decide to jump on to the gas bottle for a ride to the bottom...his mate holding the rope suffered from severe burns to the hands and the chunky was dead on arrival at the bottom...heard the bang and thought a bomb had gone off...

Reminds me of the song "Why Paddy's not at work today". Irish connotation, reminiscent of German behaviour?

At least I stuck to topic and didn't go off thread probably a first mind

Brum understand you were there in 1977 in Jan 76 the 3 Bde HQ & Sig Sqn complete with chunkies moved to the newly built Mahon Road Camp down the road the Portadown...

Quote :

Reminds me of the song "Why Paddy's not at work today". Irish connotation, reminiscent of German behaviour?

Just seeing that had me in stitches...No pun...

brum could you purchase this meandering fingy in the naafi ,

steve wrote:

Brum understand you were there in 1977 in Jan 76 the 3 Bde HQ & Sig Sqn complete with chunkies moved to the newly built Mahon Road Camp down the road the Portadown...

Now you mention it Steve we did have some people in Portadown.
(I'd forgotten about that !).

brum wrote:

steve wrote:

Brum understand you were there in 1977 in Jan 76 the 3 Bde HQ & Sig Sqn complete with chunkies moved to the newly built Mahon Road Camp down the road the Portadown...

Now you mention it Steve we did have some people in Portadown.
(I'd forgotten about that !).

Brum our former units did a similar job...Jul 78 3 Armd Div Engr Regt aka 26 Engr Regt did Long Kesh/Lurgan/Portadown in the infantry role with a squadron in each location my squadron 30 aka Dirty Thirty Fd Sqn were in Portadown taking over from 7 RHA a very good camp with plenty of facilities but my section was sent to Newry and we lived in best described as a small garden shed with 8 bunk beds only for a month though...left Nov 78 handing over to 22 Lt AD Regt RA...

Seems to be quite an interest in the goings on in NI, but can see that a deviation from what began as a strictly BFG thread cpuld be confusing (& maybe, irritating !!) to any who might want to get back to Krautland matters.

What I have read shows there's much about the NI experience that is worth sharing with all, apart from those who were involved. Seems logical & beneficial to everybody for a new topic to be opened which is devoted to NI matters.

What ? No volunteers ? I don't believe it !