Trying to locate British forces nightclub in 1945/46 Germany

I originally posted this in 2017 but the copies of the photographs I had were fuzzy photocopies which weren't very clear. Now I have found the original photographs which are clearer and show more detail. My great uncle James (Jim Noades) was in the Royal Artillery in WWII (service number 1099722). The photograph of him and three of his pals


was taken in Berlin on 6 July 1945, or that's what is written on the back, along with the signatures of 3 of the soldiers. The other two photos are of a British forces/allies nightclub where Jim was the manager, his commanding officer having asked him to organise it (before he was called up he was the head waiter at The Waldorf Hotel Grill Room in London). Jim is the tall figure in a white shirt seen in both photos. The clientelle all seem to be soldiers and there is a small band playing music.

I was originally told by my dad's cousin (Jim's daughter) that these photos were also taken in Berlin but the stamps on the back shows that they were taken by a photographer in Krefeld. Also a closer look at one of the shots shows that there is a English poster on the wall which seems to be promoting an Atletics event in Duselldorf. So this suggests that the club is either in Krefeld or Dusseldorf. Does anyone know where the club might have been? I have searched on Google with little success. There are references to a Naafi club "The 94 Club" in Dusseldorf but not much information and certainly no photos of the interior. I did find some newsreel footage of members of the 94 club on a day out and one of the musicians looks similar to the one in the photo.

The other photo indicates that Jim and his pals were in Berlin in early July 1945 and that presumably he was sent to Krefeld, or Dusseldorf, later to set up the club. He was transferred to the LAA on 10 Dec 1945 so presumably the two club photos can't be any later than that.

There is also a portrait of Jim in uniform with some writing on the back which I think says North British Stadium Hotel, this may or may not be relevant.

Can anyone help me trace Jim's movements in 1945 from his service number and locate exactly where the club was or where the Berlin photo might have been taken.

Sorry the group photo is very unlikely to be British Troops Berlin, the only Royal Artillery troops there were HQ RA 7th Armoured Division with 5th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery who arrived 14 Jul 45 and 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery who arrived 7 Jul 45.

The athletics meeting is clearly a 1st Corps District (see TAC sign) event, believe the requisitioned club to be Krefeld, HQ RA 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division arrived in Mönchengladbach on 9 Jun 45 and responsibilities included Stadtkreis Krefeld-Uerdingen, you will find the unit locations by clicking on the link.

What is interesting on the photo with the TAC sign, a young soldier appears to have a Royal Armoured Corps flash on in his sleeve, 7th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment RAC arrived 30 Aug 45 at Kavallerie (Alt) Kaserne, Krefeld, they were part of 31st Armoured Brigade located in Schloss Neersen south-west of Krefeld.

Hope this helps

https://britisharmyingermany.com

Thanks for the information and the link. The Berlin references were written inside the photo album by Jim's daughter (and in a letter she sent me) so maybe it was something she misremembered or assumed. I don't suppose I'll discover exactly where the photo of Jim and his pals was taken but Krefeld seems the most likely location for the club. Do you have any idea where it might have been located and would the building still exist? Would it be connected to the Naafi? Also you make reference to the TAC sign on the Athletics poster, what does TAC stand for?
Plus how can I find out which division James Noades served in? I know he was transfered to the LAA in Dec 1945. There is also another photo of him with his platoon (here)
, would this help establish which division he was part of?

The tactical (TAC) sign denotes 1st Corps District - 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was command 1st Corps District from 8 Jun 45 to 1 Jul 47, as mentioned above their artillery included responsibility for Krefeld, if you look at the the link you will see 71st (Royal Welch Fusiliers) Anti-Tank Regiment RA who disbanded 27 Oct 45 and that 25th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA relieved them in Krefeld until 4 Feb 46, this could be the two units James Noades was in. I have searched the HQRA documentation sorry no mention of a club, if you Google "Nordwall Krefeld clubs" as the regimental headquarters was Nordwall 131, best of luck.

Thanks for the informaion. It would make sense if Jim transferred to the LAA at that point to keep him in Krefeld if they relieved the RA regiment. I have done some resarch re the club and a few ex-soldiers mentioned three servicemen's clubs in Krefeld - one for officers, one for NCOs and one for other ranks called called Joe's Dive. Is this one likely to be the latter? But then it should be called Jim's dive
What's interesting, but may be a coincidence, is that the back of one of the last photo (which is a portrait of Jim in uniform on the front) has the name Joe Liddle and the address of the North British Station Hotel in Edinburgh (now called the Balmoral). I suppose it could be possible that this could be the Joe who ran Joe's Dive? Anyway I will keep looking.

Can I just add that until my dad's cousin showed me these photos recently I had no idea that her dad Jim Noades had ben involved in runing a club in post-war Germany. My grandfather by comparison didn't serve abroad but was in the catering corps in England. I thought the photos were amazing. I would love to know more about the other people in them including the band. Presumably they were local German musicians. I hope that more people might be able to contribute and may be able to indentify their ancesors who might be in the photos. Can ayone suggest where else I might post these images where they would be useful to people rearching.
The names of the soldiers in the smaller photo with Jim Noades seated at the table are (Edward) Ted Pratt, (Joseph) Joe Hollingsworth and Frank Warner, presumably they were in the 71st (Royal Welch Fusiliers) RA regiment with Jim.

The North British Station Hotel is now the Balmoral Hotel. It is in Edinburgh. You can Google it.

A bit of interesting history. Appreciate it.

My dad (Cyril Howard) was in Germany at about this time. He’s now 97.

He was making his way from Caen into Germany via Belgium. He was a member of the Royal Engineers- Map Corps and I understand that when the Americans dropped him at the French/Belgium border he was alone (?). He eventually got to Bad Salzuflen so wondering if this nightclub was in that area. He was certainly there on VE Day. Not Sue this helps but thought it may. Glenda Bruce