Old members of 23 Base Workshop REME

How about old members contacting this forum so we can make contact with each other? Man, we went through some tough times from 1985 to 1990. I remember Brigadier Geoff Slater who was "bubbled" by someone (I know who it was!) for crimes he never committed. What a great officer he was. There was a man I would have gone to the ends of the earth for. I saw officers do things that would make your hair stand on end. If I could write a book, it would be about this unit.

Come on you old soldiers, let's here from you, and also you civvies! You can contact me on JeffMills@pobox.com or . Many blessings.

Hello, i am what some of you may be calling a "german civvie barsteward", oh well, i don´t feel offended by this. I´d like to highlight, how important 23th BW was for many german families for 45 years between 1945 and 1990.

My Father worked at 23 from the very early days in 1945 until he retired in 1983 as an inspector. Here he met his second wife - my mother - in 1971 after his first wife deceased in 1970. They married, my mother quit her job at 23 and i was born in december of 1972. After i left school in 1990, i began an apprenticeship at 23 wich ended in 1993.

Sadly or fortunately (I still don´t know) political circumstances had changed during those three years, so I had only three month to work after apprenticeship before i had to leave 23th BW to find an other job. I still have been building Tanks until two month ago( German Leopard Battletanks, Recovery Tanks and so on, but I have to pay a compliment to all who where responsible for the smooth workflow in Wetter. This has been the best time I had in working life.

By the way, I have some photos from I think the 40´s and 50´s ,maybe 60´s(german civil workers, vehicles on test,...) and some from "open day" in 1982 or something , so if anyone around is interested in some scans, let me hnow...

best regards

Torsten Lorenz wrote:

Hello, i am what some of you may be calling a "german civvie barsteward", oh well, i don´t feel offended by this. I´d like to highlight, how important 23th BW was for many german families for 45 years between 1945 and 1990.

My Father worked at 23 from the very early days in 1945 until he retired in 1983 as an inspector. Here he met his second wife - my mother - in 1971 after his first wife deceased in 1970. They married, my mother quit her job at 23 and i was born in december of 1972. After i left school in 1990, i began an apprenticeship at 23 wich ended in 1993.

Sadly or fortunately (I still don´t know) political circumstances had changed during those three years, so I had only three month to work after apprenticeship before i had to leave 23th BW to find an other job. I still have been building Tanks until two month ago( German Leopard Battletanks, Recovery Tanks and so on, but I have to pay a compliment to all who where responsible for the smooth workflow in Wetter. This has been the best time I had in working life.

By the way, I have some photos from I think the 40´s and 50´s ,maybe 60´s(german civil workers, vehicles on test,...) and some from "open day" in 1982 or something , so if anyone around is interested in some scans, let me hnow...

best regards

Welcome to the Forum Torsten.

We hope you come back often and enjoy your visits. I take it you have looked through the main site? There are a number of items that I think would be of interest to you.

http://baor-locations.com/23BaseWorkshop.aspx

https://bfg-locations.editboard.com/wetter-f106/sergeants-mess-closedown-8-may-1993-t74.htm

Above are two of them. As for photographs, of course we would be interested! If you look here:-

http://baor-locations.com/forum.aspx

it gives details of how to upload photographs to the Forum. Might I suggest that you also allow them to be entered on the 23 Base page? If so, let me know by a PM, and I will contact you with regard to sending them to me.

Regards

Paul.

I was OIC PC&A (I took over from Eddie Hillan) and Chairman of the Anglo German Club (volunteered of course) in the late 80,s I was also a member of the German running club TGH Wetter with Ian MacArthur (??), Simon Thompson (he and I lived in the Mess together – it was haunted!) and two REME WO1s, one of which was the RSM. I kept in contact with Terry Nixon for a while as he worked for a British Contractor, I dealt with. I really enjoyed my time at 23, it would be nice to chat with ex-members and find out what happened to them after the clos

Hello mates. My old comrades of the German Bundeswehr looking for mates of the British army. We had very good contact for 23 REME, after deduction of troops, unfortunately broke off the contact. I would be very happy to hear from the old British comrades. Maybe you can help me. You can contact me via email or on Facebook. Call it is also possible .... unfortunately my English is not so good. I would appreciate very much.

Domiinic

Welcome

There are a few contributors to this site who have 23 Base Workshop including atleast one Canadian.

However most were in the late 50s/60s/70s, my father eas in charge of the Tank Repair line in the early 60s.

Thank you for the answer, sir. I hope it but still I get to know someone in the period up to the closure in 1993.

I would love to know who Motekrub is above!

Attached is an old photo of the Warrant Officers & Sergeants Mess of 23 Base Workshop REMNE. It was taken in 1985. I am the bottom one of the right. I recognise about 12 of the people but have forgoten the rest.

I have a group photo of The Warrant Officer's and Sergeant's Mess of 23 Bas Wksp REME taken in 1985. As I cannot post photos on here (what a GREAT pity!) you can contact me for a copy. My email is jeffgmills@gmail.com I am living now in Guatemala as a misisonary for the past 22 years.

JeffMills wrote:

I would love to know who Motekrub is above!

Tom Burke?

Clever bugger!

Not exclusive to Sigint!!

Jeff Mills, were you with the Cherrypickers mid to late sixties?

Jeff

A belated welcome, it always good to have Bluebell reinforcements to this site.

Hello mate....
need some photos from the 23 REME Base.......send to me at dominicvollmar@online.de

Thx

Happy Days

Hello And Good Evening All, My Father was Sgt Peter Gilroy and we lived in Wetter in the Early Sixties I my self left in 1965 to go to Boarding School, Queen Victoria School Dunblane Perthshire Scotland.
I am Going back to Wetter in Early September this year. I cannot remember the Name of the Road where the Married Quarters were all I remember is there was a playground next to our House. I have very fond memories of the Sgt's Mess by the Railway Line and the Frequent car and railroad barrier accidents. Please can somebody give me the name of the Road, I do know when i first came on this site when I registered somebody had a picture of the road in Question. Thanking you in Advance.

Stuart Gilroy

Dear Sir,

the city has changed over the many years. Many comrades have visited the city later and documented this. Look at this following link here.

23 REME Wetter

If you want to know more detail, write me. I have good contact with old German soldiers from wetter. They would like to help us further.

This should also apply to any other comrades. Many of the German soldiers find it a pity that there is no contact. You have experienced a lot with each other. Shooting, training, camping and spend pleasant evenings together.

Sry about my english....its a little bit "rosty"....

Hello Thank you so much for the Reply, From the Info you gave me and the Link that you put on your reply I have now found the old house we lived in I am 60 years old now and until this year i have not been back to Wetter since 1965. I have been to Germany many times in between as I Qualified as an Airline Pilot and visited and night stopped at many different airports, I was also Based In Saarbrucken and Berlin we used to operate at Berlin Tegel . All good things come to an End so i retired six years ago.. Thank you once again it will certainly be a trip down memory lane
With Very Best Regards

Stuart Gilroy

Stuart

My parents and youngest brothers lived in Wetter in the early 60s when my late father was Oic The Tank Repair Line (I was in Aden). Have been consulting them as to where the Sergeants MQs were but no one could remember the exact area. Fortunately Dominic has come up trumps

As an aside was Mr Beaver your teacher at the local BFES Primary School? He died a few years ago but I am in contact with his daughter Jill, who went to the same BFES Boarding School as me (had closed before your time)

JPW good evening thank you for your input To Be honest i cannot remember the Teachers name what i do remember is it was 2 teachers very small school ( Husband and wife team ).There was a young girl there who kept on braking limbs i think she must have had some bone disorder poor girl she only wanted to play like the rest of us.
I am hoping you could answer another Question for me I notice you were based in Rotenburg from what i gather so was my Father on my Birth certificate said i was born in Hamburg ( Rotenburg ) Is this the Rotenburg near Bremen or was there a District in Hamburg with same name. The reason I ask as I used to fly Into Bremen very often and i never realised that rotenburg was close by other wise i could have visited it.
Mr Beaver was probably my Teacher and I am sorry to hear of his Passing would you please give his Daughter my best wishes even though we have never met knowingly.
It Appears we must have lived in Ost Strasse so i will be paying a visit.

After Arborfield My father was medically discharged from the REME They then went back to Edinburgh from whence they came. And sadly after i left Boarding School i could not live at home as School had taught me to stand on my own two feet. So I left and did not go back for nearly 20 years. Sadly My Mother and Father and my Sister who was Born In catterick have all died.

But Life must go on and I am now Enjoying my Retirement One thing that has stuck I have a Nice Collection of German Trains LOL.
With Very Best Regards
Stuart Gilroy

Stuart

Glad to be of some help. Your teacher was undoubtedly Mr Beaver, he and his wife (still alive though very frail and living on Merseyside)

Regarding your birthplace. I think you were born in BMH Hamburg whilst your father was serving in 31 Armoured Workshop in Rotenburg. Will pm you privately with more suggestions which you might include in a future trip back to Germany

JPW Good Afternoon Thank you for all that, Would you please give Mrs Beaver my Kind Regards as I really Enjoyed being at the school. So Rotenburg is the one near Bremen. Look Forward to your PM. Thank you once again.
With Very Best Regards

Stuart Gilroy

Seems a bit quiet here. My name is Dina Althaus (nee Bates) my late father Brian Bates served in C works small arms. I am desperatly looking for picture of his last Sgts mess do in 1984. Can anybody help me out on getting some photos.

Dina

Sorry cann't help but there are one or two with connections to Wetter in its final years who occasionally still drop by.

Your father would have known my father who retired from 23 Base in 1963 as head of the tank repair lines.