GSO Query!

I seem to remember that most of the German's who worked at the camps where I was stationed belonged to an organisation entitled GSO?
Does anyone have any photos of such staff?
I think that their uniform was green.
One chap, Hermann used to come around our quarters to ask if we had any films that required developing, (he was kept quite busy) and sometimes we were invited to their "Beer Bar".
I seem to remember that the vehicles they drove were Magirus "Jupiters", a rather different design to the "Maggies" we had.
I am interested in obtaining a hat of the same style that they wore, but our local ex-forces' store has about every other type but that one.

we had them in our bks in herford yes your right they had dark green uniforms and they used to drive v.ws,that was in 56

I'm trying to find out the actual name of their organisation.
All I remember was that they were known (as far as we were concerned) as GSO chaps.
What does GSO stand for?

I think it stood for GENERAL SERVICE ORDERLY,and MSO stood for MILITARY SERVICE ORDERLY.

STEVE,thats cleared that up,looking at that site

brrowe wrote:

.............
I am interested in obtaining a hat of the same style that they wore, but our local ex-forces' store has about every other type but that one.

I think the auxiliary unit I remember in Quebec Bks, Osnabruck was an MSO detachment,,,,,,,,,,,,, green uniforms, with a cap like the Wehrmacht had.
i.e. the Einheitfeldmutze, (roughly, uniform field cap) which was not unlike the side hats, or Austrian pattern head dress, our lot wore before the ridiculous floppy beret came in towards the end of WW 2. The sides of these side hats came down to warm the ears when necessary, and the big difference was that the German cap also had a peak.

If you are really desperate to get one check out E Bay or some of those uniform suppliers for re-enactment groups. An arm & a leg just might get you an original !

[quote=" our lot wore before the ridiculous floppy beret came in towards the end of WW 2.  [/quote]

On the subject of the above, what WAS that abomination called ?
It sticks in my mind that it was some sort of "bonnet" but became The Craphat.
Looking at pictures from those days, it seems to have been the ambition of every soldier to be the bloke who could wear the thing the furthest distance down the back of his head.

Yes, many thanks all, (that'll do nicely.)
I can now investigate a supplier.
Been told there's a large ex-military clothing shop in Lutterworth, which isn't very far from here.

brum wrote:

[quote=" our lot wore before the ridiculous floppy beret came in towards the end of WW 2.  

On the subject of the above, what WAS that abomination called ?
It sticks in my mind that it was some sort of "bonnet" but became The Craphat.
Looking at pictures from those days, it seems to have been the ambition of every soldier to be the bloke who could wear the thing the furthest distance down the back of his head.[/quote]




Think it was known as the "Kaydee"?

MSO I think, was Mixed Service Organisation. We had a detachment of about a dozen attached to our small petroleum unit in Duisburg mainly for gate security and guards - none of that stuff for us!!
They were mainly Yugoslavs, Latvians and Poles. I was responsible for doing their pay and their pay
parades were a riot as I tried to pronounce their names !! Their captain's name was Petrovic, which was the easiest of the lot. Our OC used to leave the squaddies' parade to the 2nd Lieut but always took over for that of the MSO and I'm sure it was only to have a good laugh at my expense!
The side hat before the beret -- was it not called a forage cap?

i remember it being german services organisation . gso , and mixed services organisation mso, ginger

Cliffo wrote:

MSO
The side hat before the beret -- was it not called a forage cap?

Straying off topic a bit,  but Ref. Hats, Caps etc.............

I remember  side hats/ fore & afts being called ' forage caps', but technically so  were many other top dressings.  I did some delving.........

Forage caps came in in the late 1700's as fatigue wear, specifically as head coverings for seeking out local animal fodder, etc. when brass helmets and other full dress items were unsuitable working kit.  Later pill boxes, with or without a peak in the 19th C, were forage caps, so were mid-Victorian peaked sloppy things which were more appropriate  than a shako, etc. at times..

The side hat, the fore & aft to the RAF, came in initially in the 1890s & stayed around as general issue for about ten years. Officially it was
an Austrian pattern cap, one which was adopted when BD arrived just before WW2.   It was replaced by the hated  floppy beret in 1943, but the side hat stayed around as a self-purchased, undress item, in Regt colours.

Can't find any official name for the floppy beret monstrosity. An old sweat says that in his Scaley unit it was always a 'bonnet' but that was probably because they had a Scots WO2.  And they didn't need an umbrella, I'm told.

Have managed to obtain the hat I was looking for from Ebay.
Known as an M43 German Army Ski cap.
Will be great if we have a "Real" winter this year, although I don't know what the neighbors will think when they see me in it!