Service records

Having done many a duty clerk in H/Q buildings I can tell you it is creepy to be alone and locked in (elf 'n' safety anyone) especially as all the barracks I served in had rumours about cellars full of dead bodies and stuff.

Always did say you were scared of the dark Jim

LOL, well there you go then.

I sent for my records last year and forgot that I had served 35 years, so when I revieved them they were in 2 very large document cases,must have cost records office a fortune as they were recorded, it took me three days just to go through them but they had every thing in,my yearly confidenial sheets made good reading the bits added after I had signed them were interesting to say the least.
As I was mainly the Medic attatched to the Regt or unit some of the comments were more on the sports activaties and not on the medical work(worried about their next jab).

Brian

Mike_2817 wrote:

I do not believe in ghosts, its all down to your imagination. If you think you will see a ghost, then you will. SIMPLESI do believe older buildings have character however, and that can contribute to a feeling..... if your that way inclined that is.

I live in a 1896 Victorion Town House which for 40 years was a Nursing Home, and many an old soul died here, and I feel nothing at all. Some may say they lived thier life to the full, if so I am happy for them.

I saw one in our old house years ago and stone cold sober. Talked about it years later with an elder brother and he saw it regularly but had never let on. It was the figure of a horrible looking man and allegedly one had hanged himself there years before we ever moved in. Our cat would squeeze against the wall when passing the space below the stairs and being the cruel sods that we were, we threw it in once. Came out like a scalded cat!

There was a house near where we lived some years back that was supposed to be haunted and was well known for it. Some years later I was in the reference library looking up the street directories and a woman asked me how to look something up. She said her children kept saying they were seeing a strange man in their house and he had told them his name, (no it wasn't some "uncle") and she wanted to look up the address to see who had lived there in the past. It was the same house that everyone said was haunted but she had only recently moved in and knew nothing about it.

Keep an open mind!

My father, an RSM, no bullshit man served 27 years, man and boy.

He told me of three things, not stories, which spooked him.

1 - as a boy trumpeter he and another boy were at Earls court to play trumpets for the big army thing that we used to have. As he and his friend were taking positions a man appeared with a long knife and chased them down the stairs. My dad and mate crashed through the safety gate which was secured by wire and bumped into the band sgt maj and bugle cpl. My dad quickly told them what had happened and haired up the stairs to find - zilch. They believed my dad, he was boy Sgt at the time and in his final term.

2 - As a Sgt in Cyprus my father was orderly sergeant in some fort somewhere. The risk was high, terrorists were killing people every day. The magazine was next to the gaurd room and had one entrance which was also.... the exit!

That night there was mayhem. Crashing, smashing and odd noises from the magazine and so my father called the duty officer. They both decided to wait until daylight. Daylight came and the guard were all out and ready as they expected to see cypriots who managed to get in but not out...

Nothing - but all the ammo was strewn everywhere...

3 - Cyprus, my father was out with his platoon doing an area sweep prior to a convoy passing through an area.

They came into an ambush and three soldiers died, 2 were airlifted via helicopter to hospital. One chaps arm was dangling out of the helicopters door and waved - he later died of wounds. Later that week, my dad and some friends were in a bar drinking when a 'gypsy' type lady came in selling flowers. My dad bought one as he said it was easier than shooing them off. She looked at him and said T/12345678 says goodbye - the number was the regimental number of the dead waving man - how did she know?

I believed my father - I had no reason not to and he was not the story telling type. In fact, these are the only real stories my father ever did tell me and one, the last story was corroborated by an old friend of my fathers, Peter Hardcastle and RCT Clerck and CC of 24 tpt and mov regt.

My own story - I was stationed in Split 1993 - War all around, in fact - I was terrified. We were mortared, shelled shot at etc...

One day we were getting ready for a resupply run to several locations. I was making sure that my co driver had the GPMG loaded and all the stores were secure, radios worked etc and went to the loo pending a 20 hour drive...

As I went into the toilets a man walked past me in uniform and said 'Danke' as I made way for him at the door for the loo. Nothing strange in German as Split/roatia had a lot of German speaking people - the strange thing was his Wehrmacht uniform.

It took me 10 seconds to clock that he was wearing a WW2 uniform.... and was gone!

Martin, I knew a Pete Hardcastle he was a Superintendent with the MSO in Bielefeld in the early/late Eighties - is that the same guy?

It may have been - he was in Bielefeld and married to a local called Thea. He was a good six foot, thin, grey hair, moustache.

Bloody hell Martin, those are some creepy stories.

They were but I loved them as a kid. My own story, well, I didn't like the 'encounter'...

At 6 Ord Bn in Bielefeld, being duty driver and/or duty storeman was a spooky affair. I never felt happy being alone in the buildings especially the cellars underneath the Regtl HQ

Themaadone wrote:

It may have been - he was in Bielefeld and married to a local called Thea. He was a good six foot, thin, grey hair, moustache.

And liked a drink?