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When we first started setting up the Battery Bars in the mid '60s we managed to cut out any NAAFI influence. German Breweries were beating a path to our doors, Amstel Brewery were ahead of the game by employing young attractive female Reps who came laden with free gifts in the form of bottle openers, pens, bjs, beermats, glasses etc. (I lied about the bjs).

Can anyone remember the company clubs in BOAR/Berlin.As an MT man, I used to on a regular basis take one of the company guys in a 4 tonner or in Berlin a Unimog to the the local breweries to pick up stock and the brewers were very good at giving us a wee bit excess and bits and pieces for the clubs.It was virtually small licenced premises we were running but without the licence.I don't know if the NAAFI objected to these clubs but they were well run and the troops loved them.

If I remember correctly Tam, the Brewery delivered our stock, presumably did a round robin to all the Barracks that had an account with Amstel. The Rep would turn up around once a month to take the order, I can recall collecting ice, locally. Can anyone remember going round the local German estates with a Bedford on Bulk Rubbish day - some of the Barrack rooms were better furnished than the MQs?

Paderborner brewery set us up with our bar in Barker bks, no such luck with the female reps though.
We used to do our own NAAFI breaks, wonderful fresh German bread rolls. The NAAFI did have a schimpf about it but I don't think it made any difference.
It was amazing how quickly our Battery block could turn into an empty shell when the brewer's wagon arrived, our bar was in the attic !

That's about right Brum, plenty willing to drink it but not hump it up to the attic!

Shelldrake,Talking about the barrack rooms being better furnished than the MQ's.When we initially moved into Monty Bks in Berlin back in 69.The barracks had cellars and when we went for a recce we discovered that there was an abundance of furniture from where it came we did not know,but it was nice stuff in those days.We also did a recce come snatch patrol around the empty buildings adjacent to the hossifers mess,and we struck gold.Brand new carpets and wardrobes plus bedside lockers still in their wrappings.As this furniture was covered in deep dust we said to ourselves, naebody knows this stuff is here, so we duly took the stuff during the hours of darkness and proceeded to furnish and carpet our rooms.These furnishings remained in our rooms until our departure in 1970.We signed over these furnishings to the next unit and made sure they remained with the troops and not the hossifers mess.When there was the usual inspections of the barrack blocks by the Coy Commander etc they commented on how resourceful the Jocks were in making their lives much more comfortable and homely.Only if they knew.

Tam when I left the Army I was a Barracky Bill for 24 years. It sounds to me that you may have stumbled across a BIAs Buckshee Store, salted away for future dodgy deals!!

You maybe right there Shelldrake. Well he or they didnae get the nice brand new furniture if it was destined for his personal use.BIA's, I used to work with them in Berlin and we would go around the various quarters exchanging the items that the wives wanted changing.Some of the stuff was destined for the museum and other pieces were destined for the pockets of the BIA.

I never worked out how these BIA's could give outgoing tenants really excellent marchouts and others miserable marchouts that involved the tenants paying big bills for some items that needed throwing out in the dustbin.Did they take backhanders for an excellent marchout?