Barracks in Schleswig-Holstein

JPW wrote:

Alan, Columbo

Thank you for your latest info

Quick response is

1 We can eliminate the Jewish Brigade from the equation, they were definitely in Italy in the time frame we are discussing. A Brigadier Benjamin, a Canadian Jew was however involved in the humanitarian work concerning Jewish refugees.

2. Not suprised by the fact that Columbo's Mom was confused by the British rank structure, it is/was a minefield to the uninitiated as we have discussed elsewhere on the site. As a Gunner WO2 Ernest would have been formally addressed or referred to as Sergeant Major Finch

3. The word Neuengamme struck a chord and I looked up my working notes. It was a concentration camp located in the south east suburbs of Hamburg. The first British unit there was the Recconnaisance Regiment of 53 Welsh Division but responsiblity for the camp (practically empty but subsequently used as an emergency shelter for Russian DPs then as a POW Cage for suspected SS Troops was handed over to 3 AGRA (Army Group RA) under command 8th Briish Corps. Units involved included 119 Light Anti Aircraft,190 Field and 165 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiments RA
My internet source was a translation of notes by a possibly Belgian survivor of the camp

4 One further complication, I suspect Ernest Finch was an assumed name. Many in his situation either Anglised or totally changed their names when joining the British Forces for obvious reasons it could be therefore his true name was Ernst ????

I have one other theory regarding Columbo's mother's presence in the Eutin hospital but this is very sensitive and personal and it would be totally inappropriate to discuss details in open forum. I will therefore contact Columbo direct

JPW, still awaiting your theory. I appreciate your sensitivity..

Best regards,

Es

My step dad was 1 KDG and was at McLeod Barracks (Neumunster) before being shipping out to Malaya in 1956.

My last post seems to have been a thread killer, pity.

I cant add much in the way of relevant info but I have enjoyed reading through this thread, interesting stuff.

Paul & others,

What a wealth of info you have all contributed. With regard to the Bogard Barracks in Itzehoe, my late Uncle finished up in Itzehoe serving with the Middlesex Yeomanry who I understand were under the umberella of Royal Signals. He stayed there for a while until his demob date arrived either in 1945 or possibly 1946.
He used to refer to the accomodation which were comandeered houses from the Germans - one in particular was owned by a Professor whom my Uncle kept in touch with for many years. He also used to mention some of the luxery cars confiscated from the German High Command - beautiful Mercedes & Horcsh cars.

Jimsigs1

It is some considerable time since I last commented on this specific topic

Thanks to Cuxhaven Steve and Alan 8376 in particular, and a number of other contributors, to this site I now have accurate details of over 100 separate locations of where British Army units were based in S-H in the period May 1945 -1948 (probably nearer to 150 if individual barracks are included).

We also have twenty locations in Hamburg and the complete layout of 53 (Welsh) Division who were occupying Hamburg on VE Day (8th May 1945).

Similarly, thanks in part to our Canadian contributors, I now am rapidly assembling details of the Canadian 2nd Corps deployment (including a Royal Marine Infantry and two British Gunner Brigades who were under command for a time) in Friesland/Oldenburg from VE Day to their return to Canada in Spring 1946.

Munster Garrison is also the subject of an ongoing major project.

Interestingly, following contacts by individual contributors to this site atleast five German Stadt Archives are now aware of and are using information provided by this site.

Sadly one major problem remains. The Master Pages of the original BAOR Locations site remain locked to the current management team. It is therefore impossible to add or amend this data bank. For obvious reasons I do not want to swamp the Forum with this type of information

Finally back to Schleswig Holstein. Details of the identity of the Royal Navy unit based in Husum from May to November 1945 remain elusive. Similarly the exact location of Stadt Kaserne/Eastnor Barracks Lauenburg is a mystery yet to be solved.

Congratulations JPW

According to a German military forum there were no barracks in Lauenburg-Elbe but we know this to be incorrect, last year found the previously unlisted Stadt Kaserne in Lüneburg, the former HQ of 2 Army later 30 Corps District, but by 1946 was handed back to the Stadt and now local government offices, this Stadt Kaserne was considerable older that the majority of the 1930s built barracks in Germany, you may recall on my visit to Lübeck a couple of years back discovered that two of the older barracks close to the centre had been quickly demolished after the war, so probably the same happened in Lauenburg-Elbe.

hi; CONCERNING bARRACKS IN Schleswig Holstein: aLBUHERA bARRACKS WAS eIDERR KASERNE: !)$& !ST bTL: mIDDLESEX Regiment; !)$( NORWEGIAN tYSKLAND Brigade H.Q. n1953 Danish Tyskland Brigade - 1959 I received rhe norwegian Defence Service Medal in 2017 regards Heinz Johannsen any Information about Occupation Tiome in Schleswig Holstein aske me. 2856 Sqdrn RAF Regt. H.Q. was in the Wrangel Kaserne . 309 Supply and Transport Collumn RAF H.Q. was in the Krüger Kaserne. MOT Park was in the Wrangel Kaserne. 1946 Jan - July 1946

Jimmy

Good to see your posting. I for one am extremely grateful for all the help you gave me regarding the British Army presence in Rendsburg, not forgetting the Norwegian and brief Danish presence in later years.

Wish I knew someone with the same detail knowledge of Itzehoe.

Neumuenster /Neumünster

RASC  - Hindenburg Kaserne

Following WW2 from 1945 bis 1958- British Units were stationed in the Barracks on Färberstraße ,
.

Other Barracks in Neumuenster included  
Sick Kaserne alongside Hindenburg, (at the end of the War all the Barracks in Neumuenster were confiscated by the British and later used by Norwegians and Danish as well. In the Sick Kaserne English troops used only 1 accn block for a short time thereafter the buildings in good repair were used as emergency accn for refugees and bombed out families.

Scholz Kaserne (occupied by US and Polish Tps at the end of WW2) on the town periphery

Flugplatz Neumünster Captured intact by BR Forces in May 1945 used to gather salvage from Luftwaffe aircraft. The site was quickly developed for housing and few historic buildings remain.



http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/royal-army-service-corps/companies-1-to-20.html

5 Company (Motor Transport) RASC .
c1947 Germany: Hindenburg Kaserne, Neumunster .
. 1947: Started training on amphibians . (Suspect DUKW collected from 297 GT Coy RAOC)

1948 Germany: Nienburg .
c1951/52 Germany: Osnabruck .
1954/57 Germany: Krefeld .
c1959 Germany: Caernarvon Barracks Dusseldorf .
1961 - 1964 Germany: Wrexham Barracks, Mulheim

22 Transport Company .
1945  Germany: Neumunster From 3 Div Coy RASC
. 1948: Disbanded .

63 Parachute Company .
1947 Germany: Formed from the 3 Coys of 1 AB Div when it disbanded 2 Para Bde
1948 Germany: Neumunster 16 Para Bde:
?? Germany: Hildesheim 16 Para Bde

Paddy

As you know the history of the British presence in Neumunster is one of the casualties of the change of ownership of the original site and we are unable to amend the original public data.

I have details of five barracks in the town occupied at one time by the British and fifteen units stationed in Neumunster over the years plus ammunition storage areas used briefly for a time by the RASC.(Don't think there was ever an American or Polish presence in the town).

Hi Peter here are the Brigade. --- Defence Sevice Medal for Heinz Johannsen from norw. Tyskland Brigade.--- RASC 2 Transport Coy Neumünster.

Have a slightly different layout according to documentation held at Kew

Mar 46 – 5 Coy RASC was under command 4 Armd Bde when 31 Armd Bde was redesignated in Flensburg
OC: Major BJB Pollard based in Schleswig
Apr 46 – to Bielefeld
Jul 46 – HQ + one platoon – to Bevenson south-east of Lüneburg
Aug 46 – to Fallingbostel – to St Andrews Barracks Hamburg-Wansbek less one platoon Lüneburg
Mar 48 – 4 Armd Bde disbanded as yet no details of when 5 Coy moved to Neumünster

May 45 – 22 Coy RASC (Corps Troops) was under command CRASC 8 Corps and based in Neumünster
Mar 46 – to Guards Division
May 46 – disbandment order received

Dec 46 – Schleswig-Holstein Sub Area formed from Guards Division
Mar 48 – disbanded relieved by 2 Independent Parachute Brigade Group

2 Para Bde Coy RASC – Neumunster
Jun 48 – redesignated 16 Para Bde Coy RASC
Sep 48 – redesignated 63 Coy RASC (Para Bde) based in Hildesheim
Dec 49 – to UK

Research with help from JPW remains under construction

JPW wrote:

Alan, Columbo

4 One further complication, I suspect Ernest Finch was an assumed name. Many in his situation either Anglised or totally changed their names when joining the British Forces for obvious reasons it could be therefore his true name was Ernst ????

I've been following this thread with interest, fascinating.   Could it be that before he became Ernest Finch he was Ernst Fink, Fink being the German word for Finch?   Just a thought.

Sheldrake,
Yes, you are correct regarding a name change. Additionally, they in the Pioneer Corps  then had to change their Reg No as well. They were originally issued with a block number for Forein Nationals depending on their country of birth. The new block numbers fell into normal issue for all Pioneer Corps pers.

Ernest Finch retained this name on UK Naturalisation. He moved then to the USA.

PS> I have Ernest's Mil Record in UK. To be honest! One learns not alot from records, regardless of all the codes used.

3RTR were in Hereford Bks (formerly Grenz Kaserne) Flensburg from March 1946 - Jan 1948.

soprano54
They arrived a month earlier hope the following is of interest:
War Dairy WO171/8824 – HQ 31 Armd Bde
21 Jan 46 – advance party – road
3 Feb 46 – main party – road
4 Feb 46 – 2 trains of 20 flats – each with 17 Crocodiles – 2 Churchills – 1 ARV
5 Feb 46 – 1 train of 20 flats – 3 Chaffees – 1 Centaur – 12 Crocodiles and Churchills
6 Feb 46 – 1 train with 269 Forward Delivery Squadron – remaining Crocodiles

The location of Hereford Bks in Flensburg:-



Back in the day when 3RTR were in residence:-




And by comparison:-