MEMORIES

I wonder if anyone can remember the other regiments that were stationed in Detmold in the late 60's early 70's.

Hi I was National Service in 3 RTR from 61 to 2 at Hobart Barracks. Does it seem a long time ago! The garrison consisted of The Argylls, The Royal Scots Greys (Adjutant The Duke of Kent) Army Air Corps and of course 3RTR. We also had a large detachment of MPs to try again keep the peace. I remember that the MPs always tried to get to any trouble with our lads before the German Police as they delighted in knocking hell out of the British lads. Perhaps at times they deserved it!
23761646 Trooper P Bacon

Pete B wrote:

Hi I was National Service in 3 RTR from 61 to 2 at Hobart Barracks. Does it seem a long time ago! The garrison consisted of The Argylls, The Royal Scots Greys (Adjutant The Duke of Kent) Army Air Corps and of course 3RTR. We also had a large detachment of MPs to try again keep the peace. I remember that the MPs always tried to get to any trouble with our lads before the German Police as they delighted in knocking hell out of the British lads. Perhaps at times they deserved it!
23761646 Trooper P Bacon

Mate seeing as though you were 3RTR you might want to take a look at these links, you might recognise someone!

http://fearnaught3.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=3r&action=display&thread=1183932948

http://fearnaught3.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=3r&action=display&thread=1193776962

Iwas in Detmold 72 - 73, I was in BDE HQ though, the units in Detmold during my time were Life Guards and the 9/12L

and of course we all used Potthoffs, or the King George V as it was more formally known

Hi ,
I was with RAOC stores section 4 Armd Wksp in Hobart Barracks in 76/79 including their first N.I tour in 77 at Sydenham Belfast on the main Kinegar road.

Another RAOC Guy then Millwall?

jim wrote:

Iwas in Detmold 72 - 73, I was in BDE HQ though, the units in Detmold during my time were Life Guards and the 9/12L

and of course we all used Potthoffs, or the King George V as it was more formally known

Potthoffs was still going strong when I got to Detmold in 79. In fact, I seem to recall spending a good number of nights in there into the 80s.

Then I got married, and a lot of the fun went out of life!

Served in Detmold Sept66 - June 68, at that time in Hobart Barracks were the 1st Royals, 3rd RHA, in Lothian Barracks when I arrived it was 3rd Carbs, they were replaced by QDG just before I left. I was with HQ Army An BAOR CO was Col Angus Cameron Gow AAC, my boss was Maj Cliff Wilkinson RAOC DADOS (Air) WO1 Cdr Gordon RH Leader was OWO (Air) our chief Clerk was SSgt "Geordie" Sommerville followed by SSgt Fred "Taff" Jones, Cpl Clk was Keith Reid RAOC and myself Lcpl Pete Duckworth. When I came back to BAOR in Nov 71 I was with 7 GM Coy RAOC at Wulfen. Happy Days, long gone sadly.

and lets not forget the "crab" Keller

Great site, I was interested in the photo of Lothian Baracks - my wife and I were married(1964)in the Garrson Church ABOVE THE COOKHOUSE !
I served in 3Dg Band (Lothian Bks) My wife Christene's dad was ASM at 655 (?) Sqn. AAC.
We held our reception in the Sgts Mess. The Regtl cooks did the buffet for us -- it was fantastic - the ACC AT ITS BEST ..So good was the layout that guests didn't want to spoil it and spent ages taking photos before tucking in !! We still have the top layer of the cake !
Re Visited Detmold a few years ago - very different.

Ps the previous post was done on our wedd. aniversary (26th march ) !

Nice one Jim

I was stationed in Detmold with the Royals until we amalgamated with The Blues and became the Blues and Royals.I spent two years with the new Regt.I now live about 30yards from where the old 20 Armd Bde HQ used to stand,its all new houses there now.Will see what I can produce in the way of fotos.
Don

In my two years 1952/54 as a musician with the Band of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers I had a German girl who I was very fond of, Isla. Her father was the cobbler in Lothian Barracks. The last time I saw her was in July 1954 from the back of a 3 Ton lorry on my way to the UK and demob.
For the next 50 years I often wondered how life had treated her-she was always happy and a very good friend to me.
For the last three years I have taken a small party over to Detmold and in 2006 I looked in the telephone book and in the "A"s I saw AULE, her surname.Three of us went round to the address and it was the same house where she used to live and her brother and his wife still lived there.
Isla had married a chap in the REME attached to 3rd tanks and after travelling the world they had returned to the birthplace of her husband South wales only 8 miles from Tenby where my wife and I go each year for our holidays.Last year I visited the bungalow where Isla lives-unfortunately her husband who on retirement held the rank of WO2 died 10 years ago.
She didn't remember me right away but recognised my photos of fifty years ago. It was quite an occasion to meet again-I was glad that she had survived the intervening years-she lives near her daughter who has two young girls -she also has a son who has three daughters so she has her family around her.

william

Message for Milwall's post. I also served at 4 Armd with the RAOC.1975-79. And also was at NI roulement Wkps on their first tour in Belfast. I think we should know each other. Would like to get in touch.

There was always humour during my two years in Detmold.One of the funniest sights I witnessed was one night in the NAFFI-A scouse lad with a leg in plaster was chasing a Scottish lad with an arm in plaster -I am always reminded of this incident when I watch "Reach for the Sky" and Kenneth More (Bader) with two crutches, in the company of another with an arm in plaster and a third with a leg in plaster having escaped the hospital for a cup of tea in a nearby cafe with More driving the small open top car.
Many was the time when I went for a NAFFI break and placed my trumpet on the central heating radiator and found when I was about to play CO's Orders the bell end was stuffed with a cigarette packet.

Short story. I had never used Google Earth to look at my old camps. Had a search for Middle Wallop and located my block, the NAAFI/Cookhouse. Then the WRACS block (Wooooo Hooooo), the cinema (now the Museum of Army Aviation I believe) and the guardroom, sgts mess, and the training workshops.
Then thought I would move to my old camp in Detmold, Hobart Barracks. Found it, and Hermannsdenkmal and Externstein, places I visited at Easter 1968.
Then just did a search for Hobart Barracks and found this absolutely fantastic site.
I was an Air Tech in 71 A/C workshop in 1968. CO was Major 'Tiny' Davis. Boy, the memories your pictures brought back. There is even a Skeeter and I have a tale about one of those too.
My Line Chief was an RAF Flight Sergeant. Can't recall the name (Wilkins? Wilkinson) but he had traditional handlebar moustaches and was of course called 'Whiskers' and we helped to build, and race, a Go-kart under his watchful eye.
We had a pet Rapide that the amateur parachute team used.
Does anyone remember Gerda Grote's bar in town? Grotty Gerda's we called it.
And the halfway bar on the way down the hill into town?

Are any of my mates still around? I shared a room with Cpl Doug Hunter and Phil Thompsett. Cpl Johnny Zamorski was also in the unit at the time.

Doug, Phil and I used to do amateur B+W photography. We had a memorable trip to Hermannsdenkmal one day. Took in Externstein. We were looking for a model village but our limited German took us to a kinderheim. We thought it was Houses for Children. No, orphanage, Children's Home. Ah well. It was a nice day. And we did find the Adlerwarte. I think Phil had his arm in sling that day and got attacked by a vulture. Happy days.

Who was the QM? WOII whose name began with a 'C' I think. Nice guy.

I worked for a time in the ground equipment bay. Couple of NCOs there called Salt and Pepper. One a CPL the other a Sergeant. Remember them?
It would be so good to hear from anyone from those days.

Thanks for the memories guys. Keep safe.

L/cpl (at the time) John Ryan.

Adam_Reith wrote:

.....Then thought I would move to my old camp in Detmold, Hobart Barracks. Found it, and Hermannsdenkmal and Externstein, places I visited at Easter 1968.
Then just did a search for Hobart Barracks and found this absolutely fantastic site. I was an Air Tech in 71 A/C workshop in 1968. CO was Major 'Tiny' Davis. Boy, the memories your pictures brought back. There is even a Skeeter and I have a tale about one of those too.
My Line Chief was an RAF Flight Sergeant. Can't recall the name (Wilkins? Wilkinson) but he had traditional handlebar moustaches and was of course called 'Whiskers' and we helped to build, and race, a Go-kart under his watchful eye.
We had a pet Rapide that the amateur parachute team used.
Does anyone remember Gerda Grote's bar in town? Grotty Gerda's we called it. And the halfway bar on the way down the hill into town?

Are any of my mates still around? I shared a room with Cpl Doug Hunter and Phil Thompsett. Cpl Johnny Zamorski was also in the unit at the time.

Doug, Phil and I used to do amateur B+W photography. We had a memorable trip to Hermannsdenkmal. Took in Externstein. We were looking for a model village, our limited German took us to a kinderheim. We thought it was Houses for Children. No, orphanage, Children's Home. Ah well. It was a nice day. And we did find the Adlerwarte. I think Phil had his arm in sling that day and got attacked by a vulture. Happy days.

Who was the QM? WOII whose name began with a 'C' I think. Nice guy.

I worked for a time in the ground equipment bay. Couple of NCOs there called Salt and Pepper. One a CPL the other a Sergeant. Remember them?
It would be so good to hear from anyone from those days.

Thanks for the memories guys. Keep safe.

L/cpl (at the time) John Ryan.

Welcome to the Forum John, another to add their memories before they fade away. I have chopped some of your post out (in the quote above) to save a little space

Anything you can add to the Forum or main site will be appreciated, I'm sure. I notice on your post that you had/have an interest in photography. Any pictures we can see? (and I don't mean "that"type )

Paul.

In recent weeks I have been turning my house upside down trying to find pictures but without any success at all. I have a couple of boring, and I DO mean boring, ones in the UK but none in Detmold.
Thanks for welcome. This is such a good site. I can't believe I never found it before.

John,

Do you have any idea of how long 71 were in Detmold? As you may have seen on the locations page, there are no dates.

Any help appreciated.

(Shutting down now for some )

Paul.

Unfortunately not, Paul. I went out there on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd of January 1968 and it had been in operation there for some while then. 73 Workshop had just opened in Celle, or at least very recently. But after I came away, which for personal reasons was also in 1968, I lost contact and interest and it was much later that I learned it had closed.

I have some old photo's of Hobart BKS, I'll have to get them scanned in

jim wrote:

I have some old photo's of Hobart BKS, I'll have to get them scanned in

Please do Jim, please do.

Paul.

Adam.
You must have known my wife while you were with 71 AC WS REME,she was the Technical Librarian and left when they went off to UK.
----
Don

My husband was an army helicopter engineer (we got married at RAF Wildenrath when he was with 669 Sqn), and were in Celle (73 A/C Wksp) from 74-77 and Detmold (71 A/C Wksp) from 77-79.