Canadian Militäry Music Hannover 1952

Hello,

I´m a german official and I am searching the father of my best friend (he doesn´t speak english). His name is Peter Buchholz, born in Hamburg at 1953-04-27.

His father was a candian soldier in Hannover 1952 until 1953. He was a leader or conductor of the canadian militäry-music. He also performed in Hamburg, where he meet in a bar Peter´s mother. Just before Peter was born, he had to chance the miltäry location and had to go.

Peter has never seen his father. Investigations were unsuccessful because of the strict privacy of the Canadian Army. Now I found this forum with some user´s, who were then in Hannover and I hope, somebody can help us.
I think there were not too many at that time a military musician. Can anyone be so kind and say something about it?

Best Regards

Joachim for Peter Buchholz

Hi,
Joachim, welcome to the site. I hope one of the Canadian members may be able to help you? I suspect Peter was born in a German hospital! Did the mother name the father on Peter's Birth Certificate?

Hi,
unfortunately, Peter has no reference to the name of his father. He was born in the St. Georgs-Hospital "Father unknown". His mother, Lorelotte Buchholz was a waitress and had to give him in a child-home. Today he lives in Hildesheim.

Decades later, shortly before the death of the mother he met her in Hamburg. She had now taken over the pub as here owne "Lores Stübchen". However, he could only find out that his father was the head of the Canadian Military Music in Hannover and had to leave Germany early in 1953.

I know that is not much and there were many soldiers who made ​​music in Hamburg and especially the jazz scene justified, but it should have been one of the leading musicians. With a little luck, maybe someone remembers.

Joachim

As you'll notice, each infantry battalion had a band. So finding the leader/conductor of each would be part of the problem. Possibly our Mr. Ritter might have an idea.

The order of seniority for the three infantry battalions, effective 16 Jul 51, was designated as follows:

1st Canadian Rifle Battalion

1st Canadian Highland Battalion

1st Canadian Infantry Battalion

Each had been allotted a 30-piece band -- a bugle band for the Rifles, a pipe band for the Highlanders, and a brass band for the infantry Battalion. The men of the Highland Battalion have also been issued with the kilt in tartan colours of their parent units, leather pouches or sporrans according to unit custom, hose tops and coloured garter flashes, Highland style doublets of tropical cloth for summer wear, and distinctive headdress.

Unfortunately this was a long time ago and a lot of memories, to say nothing of people who possessed them, have faded or died.

Hardrations mentions the three Canadian Battalions of the 27th Brigade in Hannover, each comprised of 5 companies from different regiments. In the early 1950s they morphed into single regiments: The Rifle Bn became the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, The Highland Bn the Black Watch of Canada, and the Infantry Bn the Canadian Guards. It may be worth trying each regimental association's web site to see if there are any leads.

However, I know that, in my case, a lot of the old 27th Brigade members in the Black Watch have left us. A few old pictures are all that remain. Also we have to accept the possibility that anyone with first-hand knowledge may be reluctant to step forward.

This may be a slim suggestion, but perhaps a "flank attack" wherein you ask the Department of National Defence (I think it's Forces.ca) about information on 27th Brigade Bandmasters (assuming the man was in fact a bandmaster), saying that you are doing a piece on "Canadian music and it's influence on post-war Germany", or something. That may help in gaining information because the PR types in Ottawa will be sure to fall for that.
(And let's keep this to ourselves, boys).

Sorry I can't be of much help. Good luck!

I was thinking along the same lines Recce. .

Thanks for the answers. It´s very difficult to find the bandmasters from 1952. I asked a few of associations and miltäry-museums, but up to now without success.

But it can be, that Peters mother was wrong in understanding the function of Peters father, because in

„CANADA’S BLACK WATCH An Illustrated History of the
Regular Force Battalions, 1951-1970“

we found a photo from the commanding officer of the First Canadian Highland Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel R.L. (“Dickie”) Rutherford conducting a traditional drumhead service. He was a Queen’s Own Cameron Highlander an on this photo he looks exactly like Peter. Everyone we showed this photo sayed: this must be Peter himself or his father! There is a second parallelism, because Peter is also musical and also very religious and he conducts services too.

Peters Mother told him, his father was a leader or conductor from the Canadian Military Music, but it can be, that his father was not only a bandleader, but rather he was the head of the whole battalion, but in Hamburg only occurred as a musician.

Is there everybody who can say something about this Lieutnant-Colonel Rutherford?

Talking of military music Here's one for the R M P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8bRBule5w

Musician son

There are very strict rules about disclosure of personal information in both Canada and the UK, particularly in sensitive situations like you are involved in

You mentioned the CO of the Highland Battalion in Hannover in the early 1950s

One of our Canadian contributor's posted a short newsreel video clip of an Entertainment Group visiting the Canadian Brigade in Hannover in 1953. This included a short sequence of the CO of the Highland Battalion waving Farewell from the steps of his Mess.

I think it is somewhere in the Forum Archives. Go to the Forum Home Page, Click on Other Countries contributing to BAOR, Click on Canada and amongst the subjects listed is an 18 page section on 27 Canadian Infantry Brigade. Somewhere in there may be the link to the video clip I referred to it, will not give you the name but it might confirm the similarity in features

This is getting interesting seeing as I live in Winnipeg. Home of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlander .