Roberts Barracks

Pictures are on this site.

www.osnabrueck.de/konversion/23564.asp

bedblock wrote:

Pictures are on this site.

www.osnabrueck.de/konversion/23564.asp

Nice find Bedblock, you can see my old Qtr on a few of the links.
(Elbinger Str) I miss that house.

Hey Bedblock ... love that antar ... what are those 'white' things in between the blankets ...

Len (Ciphers)

Hi Len

I think they are sheets! Not sure though, never unfolded the bed block, just put it on the floor and slept under the counterpane. The things you used to do for an extra 15 minutes kip. lol

bedblock wrote:

Hi Len

I think they are sheets! Not sure though, never unfolded the bed block, just put it on the floor and slept under the counterpane. The things you used to do for an extra 15 minutes kip. lol

TWO pillows

B====Y luxury

It is indeed sad to see so many of the former barracks neglected and derelict, although the Osnabruck ones are in better repair, all in all, than most.

It's good, though, that the Osnabrueck conversion site is up. My German is not what it used to be, and I didn't really take the time to go through all the text, but it would appear the site is a before/after site and talks about the conversion plans for the old barracks site.

Over on ruhrmemories.ca there are several photos of the barracks in Werl that are in total dereliction and, at the rate the decomposition is happening, they will be totally overgrown and unrecognizable in another decade, easily.

I was also part of a site of former Lahr Brats for a while, even though I never lived in Lahr, and the old Kaserne there -- which was where not only barracks were located, but also the school, the youth club, CANEX, etc. -- is a virtual ruin.

I remember as a 17-year old and living up in Iserlohn of being in Lahr for a weekend and being taken to the youth club there by some friends. When we all lived in Hemer and Soest our youth clubs were Quonset Huts and not much of it at all (although we thought they were pretty okay). Seeing the huge youth club complex in Lahr, with spectacular murals painted by a young woman I knew up in Soest, was quite something.

The set of photos I saw of the Kaserne and youth club in ruins was made even more poignant by seeing the very same murals, which were quite well done actually, flaking and falling apart from mold and such, covered in graffiti. Tore at me, actually, and I had no where near the 'emotional investment' in all that that many kids did who lived in Lahr and went to the youth club all the time.

Knowing that all these barracks and Kasernes were once hives of activity, that every building, every brick, every cobblestone held memories for somebody, then seeing them as they are today bereft of context and history is very sad. A whole generation, and then some, has grown up not knowing or caring about these places. To them, they're just old empty derelict buildings.

It always surprised me that the local government didn't 'do' something with these well-built, solid buildings...and in some cases they did converting them, as in Soest and the Belgique Kaserne along the B-1, to colleges and technical institutes.

I sort of figured some of the barracks could have been converted to flats or other types of housing or offices....something.

I know the Lahr Kaserne there was talk for many years with the Kreis authorities about conversion but nothing ever came of it, mainly due (as I understand it) to financial and legal issues, possibly even liability issues I suppose. And so, the buildings were just abandoned and allowed to slowly disintegrate....

Great photo of the entire place.
Spent three happy (most of the time) years here from 70-73. Any one else around from then?

If any one wants any photos of around in side the camp I took a load just before the place was handed over in march 2009. Roberts bks was the last place because they went into one of the cellars and there was a locked door that no one knew about. Behind it was the main server for northern Germany. So they delayed the hand over from dec 08 to march 09 so they could build another one some where else. Well thats what the GGS told while they were stagging on in the building by the front gate.

there on my facebook just add me and there in a photo folder Old army camps I have loads of other camps in osanbruck and other place round BFG and some russian stuff in berlin.

stephencleator@hotmail.com

Ive put the photos of Roberts, Qubec and Woolich Bks on a facebook group called ''I use to live in Osnabruck''

Its a open group I think so you can just view them with out joining the group.

Is there any pictures out there that record the final handing over of Roberts Barracks to the German people?

I'm not sure there was one, just a low key affair, I maybe wrong though.

There was a big handover ceremony for the handover of Imphal/Mercer I put some pics on the Osnabruck thread.

Here,

https://bfg-locations.editboard.com/osnabruck-f34/osnabruck-garrison-closing-down-t112-30.htm

G'day Mate

I was with 37th CRE (37 AER) 34 Field Squadron 1952 through 1955
have photos of Squadron while Maj McClure was CO previous to that was Maj F Ford. if you are interested also photo of Bailey Bridge built between Nijmegen and Venlo nr Venray summer 1954 also Bailey built at Beresenbruck 1953

Roy, in a very hot Central Tablelands NSW

Roy wrote:

G'day Mate

I was with 37th CRE (37 AER) 34 Field Squadron 1952 through 1955
have photos of Squadron while Maj McClure was CO previous to that was Maj F Ford. if you are interested also photo of Bailey Bridge built between Nijmegen and Venlo nr Venray summer 1954 also Bailey built at Beresenbruck 1953

Roy, in a very hot Central Tablelands NSW

Roy,

I would be interested in the photographs of the Bailey Bridge, to add to the "Kit and Equipment" page on thge main site. Sending it to my e-mail address would be best - go into my profile and click on the "e-mail" button. Any problems, let me know.

Paul.

the bedblock?,you could use one sheet in the block doubled up,and the other on your bed,indeed happy days.Are the winkel and the oxo still there.How about pops brocky and judy's bar,her husband ron was an ex squaddie.

Roy wrote:

G'day Mate

I was with 37th CRE (37 AER) 34 Field Squadron 1952 through 1955
have photos of Squadron while Maj McClure was CO previous to that was Maj F Ford. if you are interested also photo of Bailey Bridge built between Nijmegen and Venlo nr Venray summer 1954 also Bailey built at Beresenbruck 1953

Roy, in a very hot Central Tablelands NSW

Hi Roy,

A bit cooler in Sydney!
I was with 40 Field Sqn, 37 AER during 1951 and 1952, we were in block 12, I think 41 Field Park were opposite beside the cookhouse.
Which block was 34 in?

We went to Lier Belgium summer 1952, and our bridging was always done at Hameln, fun days. Our weapon training at Sennalager you came away feeling you could out gun John Wayne!!

Osnabruck was a great place in those days; a pity I have now lost touch with all my mates; sadly some will have died by now.
Very hard to trace mates

Cheers
Tony

Taken last week inside what used to be 4th Regt RA LAD Roberts Barracks, now being used as a paper bulk storage facility.

They are now knocking parts of Roberts Barracks down, how very very sad.

http://www.noz.de/bildergalerien/47055399/in-der-winkelhausen-kaserne-fallen-jetzt-die-mannschaftshaeuser

recymech wrote:

They are now knocking parts of Roberts Barracks down, how very very sad.

http://www.noz.de/bildergalerien/47055399/in-der-winkelhausen-kaserne-fallen-jetzt-die-mannschaftshaeuser

T'iss sad no doubt about it. I can well imagine that there are Germans who served there during their service who have memories of the place. Still I wonder just what kind of artifacts that were found stashed away in dark corners. Which reminds me of a friend of mine who did part time work re-roofing. They often found uniforms, weapons, medals, etc going back to the Franco-Prussian War, WW 1 and WW 2 tucked away in the farthest reach of the eaves. Beer money to be made flogging them off to the dealers.

Roberts Barracks and other barracks in Germany were built in the 1930s to a very high standard and the British Army made full use of them post May 1945...with the shrinking of the British and German armies simply no longer required...Stadt Mönchengladbach have no use for the JHQ complex British built in the early 1950s and the bulldozers will be moving in there as well after the place closes in 2014...Javelin Barracks the former RAF Brüggen is due to be a energy park in the future when that closes 2015...according to the Sixth Sense newspaper the only barracks to remain in the area will be Ayrshire Barracks (South)...Münster Station to close in 2019…Tower Barracks Dülmen to remain with Ayrshire Barracks as stores depots but with a greatly reduced military population...102 Log Bde to move to UK from Gütersloh 2018 guess the former Münster units move in so besides Gütersloh there will be Paderborn - Hereford - Bielefeld - Hameln - Celle - Bergen Hohne - Bad Fallingbostel...unless the new UK government has other plans!

steve wrote:

Roberts Barracks and other barracks in Germany were built in the 1930s to a very high standard and the British Army made full use of them post May 1945...with the shrinking of the British and German armies simply no longer required...Stadt Mönchengladbach have no use for the JHQ complex British built in the early 1950s and the bulldozers will be moving in there as well after the place closes in 2014...Javelin Barracks the former RAF Brüggen is due to be a energy park in the future when that closes 2015...according to the Sixth Sense newspaper the only barracks to remain in the area will be Ayrshire Barracks (South)...Münster Station to close in 2019…Tower Barracks Dülmen to remain with Ayrshire Barracks as stores depots but with a greatly reduced military population...102 Log Bde to move to UK from Gütersloh 2018 guess the former Münster units move in so besides Gütersloh there will be Paderborn - Herford - Bielefeld - Hameln - Celle - Bergen Hohne - Bad Fallingbostel...unless the new UK government has other plans!

If the rumours are to be believed, post SDSR will see 1 of the 2 Armoured brigades in Germany either being disbanded or moved back to the UK, general concensus is it'll be 7 Bde. Shame.

Sadly I agree, I think we'll see a bid draw down in the Rhein Army.

I would like to answer a question asked on page 1 of this thread about the stables in Roberts barracks. It was a garrison stables for the use of soldiers and their families. It was staffed by volunteers from various surrounding regiments. I was seconded there from HQ 25 Regiment in 67 or 68. It was run at that time by Pat Malone of the KOSB. There was also Pat Feeney (not sure of the spelling) a guy we called odd job from, I think, a Dorset regiment, a scouser from the tank regiment and a guy called Dave from REME. Great days in retrospect. Love to hear from Dave if you happen to read this!

RE EAGLE

Their were originally two eagles on the gateway at Blacker Barracks; really the annex to Roberts Barracks. It was used by the Wermacht as a Garrison Bakery among other function.s. When the King's Shropshire Light Infantry passed through in 1945 they liberated one of them. It is now inside Copthorne Barracks, Shrewsbury. Sadly also due to close. I recall being a member of the Mess when 7 Fd Amb RAMC changed role to 7 Armd Fd Amb in about 1975. All Mess members received a glass memorial tankard.

7 Fd Amb was my admin unit from Aug 1973 to May 1976.


The RE Officers Mess had a minstrels gallery inset in the balustrade was the initial "RE" the previous occupants had "SS" there.

The 12 Mech Bde flash is based on a Shinto temple sybol from the days when12 Inf Bde fought in the Far East.

Men,

look at the photographs on this link:

http://de.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0PDoXu9RaJS6xsAp101CQx.?ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-910&p=kaffee+partner+osnabr%C3%BCck&fr2=sp-qrw-corr-top&norw=1

No, this is not science fiction or some architect training material - this is what stands on the front part of Roberts Bks today!!! 

Archie.

Mein Gott Walter !.     Siehst Du Das, Vorsprung Durch Dumheit.