Exercise Holdfast 1960

This was a NATO exercise held in October 1960. I was with LAD 4RTR at Hohne and we drove , in our half track, to a holding area South of the Hamburg Lubbeck Autobahn. Our Centurions arrived on transporters and after a couple of days the Ex started and we headed North with the Kiel Canal as the final objective. We had little sleep over the next ten days, why did we always carry out repairs at night on tanks? I remember a German tank coming from behind to rejoin the battle and they fired a blank at the ARV. The shock broke all the windows in the village shop, by the time damage control arrived tank had gone and they said the ARV was the tank that caused the damage. Memories, but not many left.

I to was on Holdfast We were on the Isle of Sylt

I belive that a number of Paras were drowned during a drop to secure a crossing over the canal.

The Para brigade were on sylt for the assault on the mainland.
You could be right Bob. I can't remember. Not a Para myself,
I was know as a Crap-hat.
We left Dortmund in convoy, and were whisked through Hamburg,
non stop and up to Sylt. Had to load our wagons onto a train, I needed the REME because as I drove my Bedford RL onto the train, the gearstick came off in my hand

this was about that time

Exercise Holdfast must have been a popular name 1 Corps held one of the same name in 1952/3 with 2 Inf Div, 6 Armoured Div and 11 Armoured Div ..

Len (Ciphers)

don't know about that ciphers a bit befor my time m8[/i]

In My days in BAOR ('70's) they were always Summer Sales and Winter Sales. We also had an ex Called Icebreaker, but I think that was only a 20 Bde thing.

Holdfast rang a loud bell with me, and the locations Kiel canal rang it even louder, I'm sure there was one of the same or similar name in 63 as we were up in Schleswig-Holstein on a combined ops Nato jolly. A couple of months later we went back on a signals exercise to practice long distance comms with the 62 set (don't laugh). We were a stones throw away from Wilhelmshaven and of course took in the night life. On the first night I drew the short straw and was designated driver (and in uniform, BD, beret, gaiters the lot, as required to drive the truck) I was amazed that despite the uniform, not one of the locals we met knew we were Brits. Obviously they didn't see many troops around there. They did however make us very welcome and there was a lot of free beer around that night.
( No sir, of course I didn't partake. No sir when I got out of the truck I didn't fall down, I tripped. yes Sir, twice)

Sorry for the size of the photo Paul, but I finally found a way to upload photo's using Photo Bucket, only thing is it was 'click this and take a chance' hence no description of the photo, it is in fact some of the lads from 20 Armd Bde Signals on Exercise Holdfast 1953 ..
can still remember all of their names even now .. back row left to right, Fred Attwell (REME there's always one), Jim Barratt (Signals), Peter Dixon (Signals, Ciphers), front row, Peter Bailey (Signals), Rockerbox Ellis (Signals DR) and Nigel Roots (Signals) ..

Len (Ciphers)

Nice picture Ciphers. Smart group of chaps. I note that the old saying holds true there, in that you don't need a cap badge to ID a signaller as his denims/combats will be a mass of acid burns

Ahh ! you must be speaking of Battery Shop Bailey, left hand, front.
Len (Ciphers)

jerry wrote:

don't know about that ciphers a bit befor my time m8[/i]

I found this regarding Holdfast in 1952
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=81894

Boy, did that take me back ..

Len (Ciphers)

You can find some great stuff on the Pathe site