Salamanca Barracks Soest

These are pictures of Salamanca Barracks and the airfield in Soest Germany, they were taken by my warm associates during my time in Soest with 653 Squadron Army Air Corps.

Some have kept in touch and as always some haven't as time has passed us by the main Army Air Corps Web site has closed down so there is little chance that i can trace them all, so if any of you viewers recognise any of the people located here pleasedrop me a line.

Maybe it's just me but I didn't see any pics posted...and I'd enjoy seeing them, for sure. Anything to do with Soest, actually, as it has always been my "home town" as far as I'm concerned!

tantruc wrote:

These are pictures of Salamanca Barracks and the airfield in Soest Germany, they were taken by my warm associates during my time in Soest with 653 Squadron Army Air Corps.

Some have kept in touch and as always some haven't as time has passed us by the main Army Air Corps Web site has closed down so there is little chance that i can trace them all, so if any of you viewers recognise any of the people located here pleasedrop me a line.

When exactly were you in Soest? I knew a lot of the AAC personnel.

Hi

Maybe this is kinda corny but Im looking for my "father",he was stationed in soest..Salamanca bks, late 80`s early 90`s..i dont have much information..they called him "styx" ^^ so if anybody knows anything it would be cool to take a look at him and oh yeah..dont be scared i dont want any money or such,just want to find my roots,thanks in advance..love,sanni

Fort Chambly up to 1971 had been residence of
1 Tpt Coy RCASC
4 Ord Fd Pk RCOC
1 Fd Amb RCAMC
4 RCEME Wksp
C Sqn 8 Ca Hussars

handed over to BAOR and rename Salamanca Bks (Bad Sassendorf) closed 1 Sep 93

HQ 6 Airmob Bde 1986 -88
206 Signal Sqn
16 Lt AD Regt from 1971
13 PC Sqn RE
3 AAC (653 an 663 Sqn)
3 Armd Div Ord Coy
5 Fd Wksp REME from 1971
later
B Coy 6 Armd Wksp later Soest Det 6 Armd Wksp then 11 Armd Wksp
BAOR Rehab Centre

I heard that Fort Chambly is or was a clearing center for returning Germans from the former Russian colonies.

Also Pborn 3 I notice you mention an Armoured (Unit C Sqn 8 Cdn Hussar) in Chambly. When I was there (Fort Prince of Wales) All the Cdn. Armour was in Iserlohn at Fort Beasujoure. Originally back in the 50's they were in Werl at Fort St. Anne as was 1 Fd. Amb. RCAMC

Hardrations wrote:

I heard that Fort Chambly is or was a clearing center for returning Germans from the former Russian colonies.

Also Pborn 3 I notice you mention an Armoured (Unit C Sqn 8 Cdn Hussar) in Chambly. When I was there (Fort Prince of Wales) All the Cdn. Armour was in Iserlohn at Fort Beasujoure. Originally back in the 50's they were in Werl at Fort St. Anne as was 1 Fd. Amb. RCAMC

That's right, Hard Rations. Fort Beausejour did hold the armoured regiments, except for the Recce Squadrons. Interestingly, they were usually from different regiments for some reason or other. For example, when I was in Fort Chambly from '57 to '59 it was the Lord Strathcona's Horse recce sqn while the "main armour" at Beausejour was the Royal Canadian Dragoons. I believe Fort Beausejour was opened in 1956 or '57 when they increased the brigade armour strength from a squadron to a regiment, thus making Fort Anne too small to accommodate four squadrons of tanks. Today the most aggressive thing in use at Fort Anne are golf clubs, so I understand.

As for the former, I don't ever recall hearing the story about returning German POWs being billited there. The barracks were only built in the early '50s, and they were always strictly for Canadian brigade use, unless there was something there beforehand. Can anyone add to this?

All the forts were Canadian made except for the two forts in Iserlohn which were German. I've seen YouTube bits on German Panzar units that surrendered at the end of the war in Iserlohn, so possibly that's what's being referred to if they were P.O.W. camps for the Germans. Also I remember German locals telling me that much of the German military equipment rifles, SMG's, grenades, etc were piled up the hill side where the Cdn. PMQ's were in Hemer, those to were built for the Canadians. The local lads had a ball playing cowboy and Indians and surprisingly no one was shot.

And I never realized that the Recce Sqn was in Chambly. Not bad for a guy who ran the Bde. Adm. Det. in 1 SSM Bty. Don't know why I didn't remember that.

Good hearing from you. Did you know Archie Cairns Pipe Major for the Gds and formerly Black Watch passed away?

Yes, Fort Chambly was the base for the recce squadron.  The reason for this was that the squadron was equipped with helicopters and there was the gliding field just to the north-east of the camp which the Canadians made use of for their aircraft.

The brigade recce squadron was a separate unit from the armoured regiment.  Canadian-based armoured regiments of the 50's and 60's weren't organized with full reconnaissance squadrons.  When one was required for NATO or UN service, an armoured regiment would be tasked to organize a squadron for the period required.  Only on one occasion did the recce squadron and the armoured regiment in the NATO brigade wear the same cap badge.

When the 8th Canadian Hussars were reorganized as a reconnaissance regiment in, as I recall, 1964, it stationed its C Squadron permanently at Fort Chambly.  When the brigade moved south in 1970 the reconnaissance squadron was done away with.

Cheers,
Dan.

So much history centred around both the Canadian forts and subsequent British ownership and so many of the old forts since DND (Dept. of National Defence) in it's infinite wisdom decided it'd be a great idea to put all our eggs in one basket and move all the Cdn troops to Lahr/Baden-Baden etc. have fallen into disrepair/dereliction or been converted to light industrial use. I know the camps in Werl, for instance, are all overgrown and just left to rot. I always thought the move 'down south' was a bad move, myself. And now, of course, the Kaserne and old Youth Club in Lahr are all derelict as well. Very sad.

Ah Stephen the Kasern in Lahr is now a very attractive housing site.

Hardrations wrote:

Ah Stephen the Kasern in Lahr is now a very attractive housing site.

Good! And I assume you weren't being ironic/sarcastic when you said "very attractive" housing site

The last set of pics I saw of it all was maybe 3 or 4 years ago and it was all in ruin. The old Youth Club with all those wonderful murals (most of which were painted by Gloria Gourlay who I knew in Soest), the high school, main married quarters, and barracks etc. --empty and derelict and vandalized. That the Lahr city council or whoever decided to convert the site into housing is excellent. Glad to hear it.

No sarcasm meant Stephen. I can't remember how I got them, but some one posted some aerial pictures showing the old casern site. I think it was on a R.C.A. site I'm in. I'll try to find them and post them on.

that'd be excellent!

Hope the others don't think us 'pushy Colonials' are ursurping their site! :-)

Bloomin' Colonials usurping our site!!

Shelldrake wrote:

Bloomin' Colonials usurping our site!!

-- I know!!

My dad was stationed at Salamanca Barracks, in the 80's till 1991. 3 reg AAC. Anyone else there in that time?