27th Canadian Infantry Brigade

Baor(27CIB) surfers
Did some further homework on the hyperlink video which I failed previously. Hopefully I wil get it right this time.

Link removed

Bob

Another personally very interesting addition to your magnum opus

I wonder where the RCEME tradesmen for the two LADs were found

The small LAD with the RCD would have required specialist knowledge of heavy tracked vehicles (ideally Centurion tanks). Were the RCD a Regular rather than Militia Regiment at the time? If so C Squadron fitters could have been found from the parent unit

Similarly the Gunner LAD Armourers and Gun Fitters would have required previous knowledge of the 25 Po, presumably the majority of this LAD was found from RCEME tradesmen serving with the Militia Gunner Regiments contributing to 79 Field.

Regarding the supporting 2nd Line RCEME Workshop, pity there is no detailed information as to how this unit was formed. Note that in the case of the RCAMC contribution to 27 CIB two Militia units formed the basis of the Field Ambulance. I wonder if the same system was used to form the RCEME Workshop but were there any RCEME 2nd Line Militia Field Workshops in existence in 1950/51? If so where?

Have had another session in the Archives of the REME Museum in Arborfield looking for information relevant to this site.

A couple of as yet unconfirmed thoughts.
Firstly whilst the RCEME Workshop living accommodation may have been shared with the RCASC "truckies" in Stonehenge Barracks Langenhagen I suspect that their technical working accommodation was elsewhere in Hannover. Equivalent British REME units were based in, for example, a former VW depot and HANOMAG factory. The British 31 Armoured Workshop left Hannover for Rotenburg in Autumn 1950 so there could have been some spare technical facilities elsewhere in the city.

Secondly the RCEME Base Repair Section could have been" blistered on" on to the REME Heavy Workshop based in Bad Oeynhausen in a former VW depot which provided the detailed technical back up to British units in the Hanover area. They would have moved to Wetter when the Brigade moved to its permanent accommodation in the Soest area

Finally as an aside, I like the RCEME motto, the REME equivalent is Arte et Marte(by Skill and Fighting), as a result in certain units the REME tradesmen were sometimes known as the Arty Crafty.

Don Walton here.
I found a website pertaining to Langenhagen yes it was a Luftwaaf Base as one can see by the pictureson the website.On the BAOR Listing of Barrachs the only picture they have is what it looks today.True various units of 27 CIB were in various Barracks Highland units in North Chatham Barracks. HQ CIB London Barrachs.55 Tpt Coy RCASC was in Langenhagen Barracks although a picture 55 Tpt Coy Wksp Platoon states Stonhenge Barracks as to when that name was given is a mistery to me as there is no listing of Stonhenge Barracks on the BAOR Site. I have pictures of 55 Tpt Coy RCASC and because the negative was very large the picture came out in three sections and the same was of HQ Platoon. These pictures are on my RCASC Family Tree Site which also includes A Platoon of 55 Tpt Coy RCASC. Altogether regarding 55 Tpt RCASC are the following platoons.HQ,A Platoon and Wksp Platoon.Of course there would be a B and C Platoon and K platoon (Composite) those three i do not have and the closest to K Platoon is a single picture.
my email address is (greatuncledon@rogers.com) if you e-mail me i will send you the link and password and i would ask you please to place a message on my Guest Page

We seem to have gone Extra Wide Cinemascope again?

OK here

Don't sit so close to the screen.

Normal service has been resumed.

I have in my possession a copy of the RCEME Quarterly dated July, 1952. While reading the earlier posts on this thread today I thought I would see if the Quarterly could add anything to what was already known or unknown about the RCEME in Hannover. Fortunately I was able to glean a couple of small bits of info. First, this is the old post to which I'm referring.

ritter wrote:

Installment No. 25

"R.C.E.M.E. to form No. 194 Infantry Workshop, Nos. 196 and 197 Light Aid Detachments, and replacements...assembled at Barriefield, Ont."

"To train and administer replacement personnel of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, the following units were formed effective 1 Aug 51: No. 195 Infantry Workshop, R.C.E.M.E., at Barriefield."

Movement to Europe
"The first group to move by sea was an Advance Party including a port workshops detachment, R.C.E.M.E. This base advance party embarked at Quebec on the T.S.S. 'Canberra', a Greek Line vessel and sailed on 4 Oct 51 for Hamburg, arriving there on 14 Oct."

The Quarterly has a story about 194 Infantry Workshop in Germany, written in a tongue in cheek manner, by a member of the unit's advance party. He wrote that after landing in Hamburg the Workshop advance party was attached to a British Workshop also located there (1). The author doesn't state how long they were in Hamburg but did remark that while there they had to unpack arriving Canadian vehicles from their wooden crates and remove all of the goo and masking tape that was covering them.

The advance party was eventually moved to Oldenburg airport where they were attached to an RAOC vehicle battalion (2). The author remarked that the British had thousands and thousands of old vehicles parked nose to tail on the airfield. While there the Canadians prepared to issue the 300 Canadian vehicles to the about-to-arrive units. (He writes that as the Brigade advance party totaled 150 personnel each member was issued 2 vehicles!) The duration of their stay at Oldenburg was two cigarette issues. (No idea how long that would have been.)

Finally the Workshop advance party was sent to what would be its permanent station at a former Wehrmacht school that was being rebuilt from wartime bomb damage (3). The main body of the Workshop was due to arrive in 4 days while the scheduled completion of the new barracks was 2 weeks.

(1) Possibly Arborfield Barracks, Hamburg. (BAOR Locations)
(2) 16 Vehicle Battalion, Oldenburg. (British Army Units since 1945.)
(3) Possibly Chatham Barracks. (BAOR Locations)

There was also a small article on 195 Infantry Workshop. It was located at the RCEME School in Barriefield and allocated buildings in F Block. The new OC, Major Pat Sherren, did not arrive until January, 1952. Its main objective was to train and administer reinforcements for RCEME in the 27th Brigade.

Hopefully, some of you other readers may be able to fill in the blanks or positively identify the locations, and tell me how long it was between cigarette issues.

Cheers,
Dan.

Dan

A very interesting contribution which is definitely worthy of further research

Arborfield Barracks is a possibility but by 1952 there were no Field Force Units based in Hamburg.

31 Brigade based in Luneburg was the nearest British Army formation, the Danish/Norwegian Tyksland Kommando, with a British Armoured Car Regiment stationed in Neumunster, provided the majority of the NATO Military presence north of the River Elbe in Schleswig Holstein.

The other option would be 22 Base Workshop located in the former Blohm and Voss Seaplane Factory in Finkenwerder. In later years there was a Canadian presence in 23 Base Workshop at Wetter in the Ruhr (I think I am correct in saying that Stephen Locke our prolific contributor, now based in Winnipeg, father was stationed there for a time)

Your remarks regarding Oldenburg and Chatham Barracks (certainly the RCEME Workshop was in the Langenhagen area of northern Hannover) are I believe correct.

I will leave it to others to comment on the cigarette rations there are two options, either a weekly issue linked to pay parade or the issue of coupons (similar to that used for coffee and alcohol)

I will add the Hamburg location to my queries to be resolved on my periodic visits to the National Archives in Kew

RCEME School in Barriefield. That would have been by Kingston Ontario. The only location I'm familar with. Now long moved to CFB Borden.