History of the Garrison and Brits in Westfalen

>> Under another heading under General-Non BAOR:
Cartav wrote :  I seem to recall a project was in hand to put together something
as a record of BAOR.......must be a year or two back since I sent off one or two
pics which seemed to be worthy of inclusion in any erudite tome....... Did it ever
go to print, or was it scorned by publishers ? <<

HQ BAOR and the White House still existed then - the tasked civil servant went when the org dissolved.

Since then two plans -
1)  somewhere in Normandy Barracks Sennelager is a "Legacy Historian" reputedly (or allegedly) a former SLO who had been responsible for the closure of Haig Barracks Hohne, and tasked to gather the remnants of knowledge (I shall enquire for his details)
2)  Paderborn Stadt have designs on the real-estate about to be released, AND have delved in to the History of the British in Westfalen to produce an Exhibition (Ausstellung) in the Am Abdinghof Council Buildings in the town (from memory the parking there is iffy at best), recording the impacts and interactions between the  population and the military:

Link here:  https://www.paderborner-konversion.de/briten-westfalen/ausstellung

anyone considering devlopping a project / purchase of  barracks:

https://www.paderborner-konversion.de/standorte

Unfortunately many photo links to sixth-sense.de addresses no longer produce the promised photos - the newspaper has closed down.

The very successful "Brits in Westfalen" exhibition in Paderborn  has closed but Dr. Bettina Blum works on through University Paderborn:

"Msg timed 1304 hrs 12 May 2018
Dear friends and supporters of the exhibition: "The British in Westphalia",

I hope this finds you well.

As my contract with the City of Paderborn expired at the end of the exhibition, I'm now working for the Department of Contemporary History in the University of Paderborn. We are planning a follow-up project on the subject covering "The British in Westphalia/Germany". My previous email adress no longer functions, so please send all replies to my this email address (bettina-blum@web.de).

If you have any questions concerning the return of loaned objects, please contact Mareike Schwirtz (m.schwirtz@paderborn.de) and Christoph Gockel-Böhner (c.gockel-boehner@paderborn.de).

There will probably be a new, smaller exhibition next year, so I am starting collecting objects for display anew. Please let me know if you know of anything that might be of interest. I will inform you as soon as I know more.

As we are continuing work on the project, I would very much like to invite you to two Anglo-German events that will be taking place in June 2018:

On Saturday, 23 June we are planning an Anglo-German history project in Church House, Lübbecke. The original buildings were set out during the Third Reich as a national socialist education centre. After the war the main building was used as a British officers mess and then it came to be  Church House. It is a very pleasant location with an interesting history. It is generally  open for members of the British Forces and their families for welfare seminars, but it will open on this day for all interested parties, both British and German, who would like to explore the Anglo-German history of the region. We offer the possibility to share memories and experiences in continuation of the discussions started during the "The British in Westphalia" exhibition. We therefore ask all attendees to bring photos, documents or other mementos. We intend to produce a booklet for all participants - and some of the objects may well be used as part of further exhibitions or other similar projects. The languages spoken on the day will be German and English. Help will be provided for everyone who doesn't speak both languages. The day is being organised by Lindsay McCran (41 AEC), Padre Heather Rendell, Sarah Korsikowski (exhibition team) and myself. The cost for the whole day including meals will be €10.- and, as places for participants are limited, prior formal registration will be necessary.

On Friday, 29 June, a military "Freedom of Paderborn" parade will be held in Paderborn. I currently have no further details concerning the time-frame. The event will start at Maspernplatz and end in the evening with a "Zapfenstreich - Beating Retreat". I hope that we will be able to arrange a meeting point for all who are part of the project and who are interested, but this is something we will have to try and organize.

It would be a great pleasure to see you again, providing you can make the time and join one or both of the events. Please drop me short note, if you would like to take part and I will provide you with more details as soon as I receive them.

And I'm very sorry, I'm not sure if I have all the email addresses, so please feel free to pass the email on to others who took an interest in the project.

Thanks and best wishes,

Bettina "

Before you go:

And the show goes on   ..........

Following the success of the British in Westfalen exhibition  that ran through the winter 2017/18 in Paderborn,
(Curator:  Dr. Bettina Blum)
a mini-exhibition is on tour through Westfalia .  The size has been reduced not just because some exhibits
were on loan and have been returned, but to fit the surroundings and to be easily transportable  - keeps costs down,

In the mean time, Bettina Blum's team is collecting memoribilia, ephemera, pictures, maps and memories from
the many people and families who had been touched or were affected by the "Brits" in Barracks, in Town, on Exercises,
or socially engaged in their (German) environment.

They want to meet and hear from whoever remembers or has photos/photo albums, or kept any souvenirs from:

      -   soldiers boosting skills in village and local football teams,
      -   trucks, antennae and cook sites moving on to a farmyard in the middle of the night
      -   Colourful (loud) Marching bands at Schützenfests and Open Days
      -   Karnival and Schützenfest, Feuerwehrfests and other beer-drinking competitions
     -    Rhine Army Summer Shows at Bad Lippspringe - back when it was a Horse Event and an early Floh-Markt
          (or the copy event at Rheindahlen)
     -    the Golf courses at Garrison towns
     -    Grape Harvest in the Rhineland
     -    Children's Christmas parties, Carol services
     -    BFBS / BFN  radio shows
     -    Went to a BFES School in Germany ?
     -    Forces Post Offices and their First Day Covers
    -    Adventure Training and Army Sports (Free-fall parachuting, gliding, golf, polo, soccer, rugby, cricket, American football,
    orienteering, cycling, Grape Picking (was classed as Adv Trg), skiing, tobogganing (Winterberg, Silberhutte, (Trg for
    Kristiansand Outward Bound), Goslar, Bad Harzburg, Bavarian Ski Huts)

and the many other points of contact between the Forces and the world outside barracks!
     
The touring exhibition will be at these venues:

           From  
           26 Aug 18             Mindener Stadt Museum
           28 Oct 18             City Archives  Hamm
           13 Jan  19             Ermschertal Museum Herne
           17 Mar 19             Historisches Museum Bielefeld
           19 May 19             Städtisches Museum Herford

           21 Jul   19             Kreismuseum  Wewelsburg (nr Paderborn)

The virtual tour and highlights of the original Paderborn exhibition are on-line here:

            www.paderborner-konversion.de/briten-westfalen/virtueller-rundgang

The organisers have not forgotten that many Nations contributed to the British presence
in  Nord Rhein Westfalen, and contributions and memories are invited from:
Canadian, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Maltese and American communities that
had been a part of modern history, and whose inclusion and participation is foreseen for future exhibitions.

In similar vein it is appreciated that the British community included the British Army (much of which has
been whittled away in modern terms), the Royal Navy  (Minden, Oeynhausen, Bad Salzuflen, Krefeld (Uerdingen),
and the Rhine), the RAF (Bad Eilsen, Scharfoldenforf as well as the major flying sites),  CCG (BE) - all 25,000
of them, British Resident Officers and the JSL Organisation, Defence Estates,  MPBW and its  succesors,
and the CVWW groups (Red Shield, Toc H, YMCA, WVS/WRVS) that supplied welfare support inside and outside camp.  
NAAFI (BFI) with its in-camp canteens and shops, Families mini shops and supermarkets.   All had some interface with
civilians outside the camps.

A very large subject being treated robustly and sympathetically to record Brits at peace in Westfalia and the Rhineland,
and linking the  Brits who have made their home in what had been the British Zone of Germany.

and the next venue:
at the triangular castle at Wewelsburg near Paderborn or Büren:
Commences 21 Jul 19

https://www.wewelsburg.de/de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/termine/2019-SoA-Briten-in-Westfalen.php