GCLO/GSO Records

I wonder if there is any (official) instance who is holding records of GCLO/GSO units.

Found on a German marriage record from 1947 "Chief Superintendent" as profession,
Schlosskaserne as address (= Horrocks Barracks) and the record was issued Dec. 1947 in Neuhaus, Paderborn, Germany.

What kind of GCLO/GSO unit could be stationed that time at this address and later
been moved to Fallingbostel (1950 or before, because they participated in Berlin Airlift).

Hope, someone can help or point me in the right direction.

thanks!!

PU

Welcome and thank you for the question

The experts on this site enjoy the challenge, we had a similar query about 18 months ago involving Polish ex servicemen who had joined the blue uniformed Mixed Services Organisation. This resulted in two sons of Polish exiles, one now living in Canada the other in Australia but both serving in the same MSO unit and both originally coming from an area of the former Poland incorporated in the Ukraine post WW2, developing an extended personal correspondence

So far as your query is concerned we have discussed the status and role of the green uniformed German Services Organisation a number of times elsewhere on this site. Many were originallly were formed into Dienst Gruppe from former Wehrmach Prisoners of War in Autumn 1945. Many were potentially unemployed or had lost contact with their families in the later months of the war and were faced with permanent exile from their homes in the Soviet dominated East Germany or former German communities elsewhere in Eastern Europe in places such as the Baltic States Poland and Czechoslovakia who had been ethically cleansed at the end of WW2

Without details of the exact name of the units it is difficult to be precise but my guess is that the GSO units concerned were involved in providing basic administrative support to the British Garrisons through the then British Occupation Zone. Unlike the MSO, the GSO were not permitted to be trained in the use of weapons orr carry side arms. The majority were therefore employed in fairly menial unskilled tasks such as drivers or labourers.

Peter,
Have you still available on this site, the MSO back ground story with photos, which shows  Chief Superintendent (s) with Transport Unit?

Will this link work?

http://www.baor-locations.org/318MT.aspx.html

Yes, I'm still around and would first say THANKS for the answers received so far.
But I see, it's very difficult to find anything about the possible GCLO/GSO or MSO unit, which was stationed end of 1947 in Horrocks Barracks and went from there to Berlin Airlift at Trauen/Fassberg in 48. No wonder, it's more then 65 years ago and not many could remember.

PU

Alan, Cuxhaven Steve and I have all been actively researching various aspects of the early years of BAOR I certainly, and I suspect the others have not come across any mention of MSO or GSO units in the British unit War Diaries, or in later years Historical Records, held in the Military Section of the National Archives in Kew.

Unless another contributor to this site can come up with an accurate unit title it is difficult to advise you on a way ahead. RAF Celle was certainly one of the major airheads in the British Zone during the Berlin Airlift Fassberg a back up/secondary role

1) The Garrison Transport Office Normandy Barracks BFPO 16 has a pictorial history of "MT related units of the MSO /GSO" formerly based in Horrocks and Crocker Barracks - the Paderborn station remit!

2) MSO/GSO records were once held at their Depot in Hamm and my understanding they were moved to Garrison Labour Support Unit, Herford; BFPO 15.

3) The GCLO that had been in Horrocks Bks (The Schloss at Neuhaus) is Paderborn Garrison, GLSU in Allanbrooke Bks, Paderborn, BFPO 22.

Pborn3

Welcome to this site and thank you for this very interesting information

@Pborn3
Thanks for your "input". I hope I can find at the mentioned units some more information.

@JPW
I don't know if someone means Fassberg played a "secondary/back up" roll during Berlin Airlift.
More then 500000 tons of coal seems to me a lot!

https://i.servimg.com/u/f72/18/53/85/99/coal_p11.jpg

Thank you

I am no further forward than June 1946 in my detailed studies of the history of BAOR.

From my cursary reading of books on the Berlin Airlift I had assumed that the main RAF airfields involved in the British Zone were Lubeck, Hamburg, Celle and Wunstorf and the Flying Boat station on the Elbe to the west of Hamburg. Other RAF Stations such as Schleswig, Fassberg Hannover etc provided a secondary/ diversionary role.

We have no RAF Contributor at present, clearly you have some excellence sources, would you be wiling to provide a brief input on the Berlin Airlift from a BAOR/2 TAF perspective?

Fassberg Air Base was first named Airfield B 152 and later RAF Fassberg. During the Berlin Blockade RAF Fassberg played an important role as a hub for supplying the city.

It's really difficult to find pointing information nearly 70 years later. At least THANKS everybody for your input.

british-army-units1945on.co.uk/royal-corps-of-transport/mobile-civilian-transport-group.html

MCTG employed MSO  - they were allowed to carry arms

GSO could not carry weapons

That one was already known to me, but thanks anyway.

Pborn3 wrote:

1)   The Garrison Transport Office Normandy Barracks BFPO 16 has a pictorial history of "MT related units of the MSO /GSO" formerly based in Horrocks and Crocker Barracks, now in the Garrison Transport Office in Sennelager - the Paderborn station remit! Closing soon. 201

2)   MSO/GSO  records were once held at their Depot in Hamm and my understanding was they were moved to BFG Labour Support Unit, Herford; BFPO 15. and now there are none ?

3)  The Garrison Civil Labour Office that had been in Horrocks Bks (The Schloss at Neuhaus) is  Westfalen Garrison, Garrison Labour Support Unit (GLSU) now in Normandy Barracks, in Sennelager, BFPO 16.

A recent query (2019) from the public in this forum, to trace a former employee of the Occupation Force / BAOR/BFG;
revealed that only 1 German Lohnstelle continues in existence at Soest - but hold no significant records;
Soest suggests contacting the remaining BF (G) Civil Labour administration at Bielefeld - and again there seem to be
few records in situ. Some of those personnel histories would be have been 74 years old.