Did you ever bump into someone you once knew in Germany?

Did you ever bump into anyone in civvy strasse that you served with in Germany?

In the mid nineties, my frau and me were walking around one of our local supermarkets and met a couple who we were very friendly with in the mid seventies at Wildenrath. The last time we saw them was around early 1975.

They had no ties with this area at that time so it was a complete surprise. Sadly he has died since but it was nice to see them and have a chat after all those years.

There have been a couple for me, one was a bit strange.

I was sat outside Manchester Children's Hospital one day, back in the 80's, having a smoke.

I'd just commented to my mate that I thought it a shame that, although I'd been in a regiment that recruited from Manchester, I had never come across anyone that I knew.
I flicked my ash out of the door and suddenly noticed somebody standing there. I apologised for flicking my ash on him and he spoke to me using my name.
He said "I was in Six Troop with you in Andytown" and proceeded to reel off a load of names of blokes we both knew at the time.
I didn't recognise him, which bothered me a bit and when I got home I dug out a Troop photo that we'd had taken, in Deilinghofen, prior to going to Ireland.

He wasn't on the photo and to this day I don't know who he was.

brum

i started life in the 15/19H[a north east regt]so it was not uncommon to bump into members and ex members on a daily basis,i left the regt and went AAC,when i eventually left the army i started work at newcastle airport as an apron controller,on my interview the director asked if i knew anybody who workedat the airport,[i told him honestly that i had never even been to the airport before]on my first day i met 7 ex members of the 15/19,a supprise to say the least.

After our last tour in Germany circa 1969-73, my dad was posted to Calgary, Alberta (where I still reside). Several of the kids I'd gone to school with in Soest and Hemer were also in Calgary so I was able to renew friendships there. But that was not unusual since it was just another posting.

Fast forward a few years. I'd left home, finished college, out on my own. I was sitting in a pub with a few buds when this guy came over to our table and asked if I remembered him. I did, immediately. He was an ex-Hemer kid. I didn't know him very well in Hemer as I didn't move in the same circles as he, but I was aware of him. He played drums (?) in our resident Youth Club rock group. This would have been easily a decade after we all were over in Germany. He hadn't changed much. I'd run into him periodically out and about but haven't seen him for years and years now. He was always friendly whenever we did see each other, despite not really having a connection to each other.

Mom and Dad often 'ran into' people Dad had served with at a store or where ever, even after he retired.

The timing of this question is interesting, however. Just a couple of days ago at work I had a woman come up to the counter with a small boy (maybe 8 years old). He had candy he was going to buy but he didn't have enough money. She said to him, auf Deutsch, it's going to cost this and this much. I said, also in German, what each piece cost, then asked her where she came from in Germany, in German. She said the boy was her nephew and he was from Dortmund!

I told her I went to school in Dortmund, the British school across from the city cemetery and that I lived in Soest for a few years. Oh, she said, still in German, he knows Soest as do I. Pretty city. She now lived in BC in an area called Shuswap, which is a resort area (also quite nice!). The nephew was visiting from Dortmund. She knew the school I went to, but knew it as the Europa Schule, which it now is, not as Cornwall but as she was in her 40's, I'd say, she was also aware of the British presence in Dortmund.

I told her I also lived in Iserlohn, which she also knew.

Other than that, I have not come across anyone I knew 'back then' for many years.

I have run into people that I served with over the years. My favourite goes back to Easter Sunday 1965. We had gone to Apprike behind Fort Prince of Wales and Fort McLeod for a bit of drinking at the gasthof there. A German gentleman came in who wanted to celebrate the the birth of his first son. Well being the only customers there he paid, we partied. As the evening wore on, about 2300 hrs I decided to leave the gasthoff, as I had come on my bicycle, I hoped on took off down hill in an unpaved road. Well, I came too some where beside Fort McLeod with a German lady holding my head in lap and saying in German, that everything was okay and the M.P.'s were coming (Oh Joy, Oh Joy). Next thing I see is a Meat Head (M.P.) hat badge above me and some one else at the other end carrying me into the M.I.R. The meat head says, " Don't worry about it, your hurt enough". The right side of my head was a mess from the gravel and nose dive into it. Well a few days later I'm in Freda's (Gasthof zum Felsenmeer) and this Regimental Police from the PPCLI says to me, " Hey you owe me a dry cleaning job, for my best uniform (Wool Battle dress in those days). So of course I said, " How's that?". Well it appears he was the fella on the foot end of me at the M.I.R. When he tossed my bike into the 3/4 ton truck all the beer bottles in my saddle bags had busted and he got beer soaked. Now roll onto 1989 in Winnipeg. I had business to do down town near Polo Park. As I entered this building for the first time I asked the commissioner where the elevators were. He pointed them out to me and went back talking to some one. On getting to the elevators, I turned around and returned to the commissionaire desk. He looks at me and says, " I said the elevators are over there" rather abruptly. I said, " Easter Sunday 1965", he says, " You still owe me for the dry cleaning job". You know after catching up, I still didn't pay him. To bad he's no longer there.

I had the opposit happen, I went to a party in Penang in 67 met a lad who was in the Green Jackets, he used to live in our street in liverpool which i left in 63

Okay. Once more for me.

Easter week-end again but in 1972. Posted in Lahr decided to go up to Deilinghofen see old places and friends. Married now. It's about 2000 hrs and getting dark on the Auto Bahn. I pulled into a B.P. gas station a small one in the middle of no where and not yet near Deilinghofen (remember our BP coupons) Young lad is fueling my car, looks at me and says in very good English, " You used to live in Deilinghofen". Lord liften, that startled me. We got to talking and then I remembered him. Had driven him home one evening when his car had broken down and he was a good hockey player on the German local team at the time. My poor wife questioned me as to who I didn't know in Germany and how come I kept running into them.

Interesting meeting was on my second day back in Germany in 71. I went to the Golden Chicken for lunch in the market place in Lahr. This apparently was the place to go for lunch for the Sigs Sqn fella's. Had my meal and a few brews. Young lady comes out of the kitchen and I asked how much I owed? As I was speaking I was realizing, oh Lordie, I know this gal. She takes one look at me and shrieks, " Zoopa!! ( German for Soupie)". Well she wasn't an ex-girl friend but the friend of a former girl friend of mine in Dortmund. Next day I'm back in and she is eager to tell me she had phoned Maggie in Dortmund and she was on her way down to re a firm our old friend ship. I then had to explain I was now married and had a daughter. Immediately told my wife on getting home. Did see Maggie for a brief moment in the company of a friend to keep things on an even keel. It appeared that she had a moony eyed RCE type in love with her so all was well.

Then there was the waitress in the Stork Tower in Lahr from Nijmegen who recognized me from my times in Nijmegen. This was with my wife and daughter. Poor wife she was bit frustrated with me. Not my fault that the folks in Northern Germany and Holland followed where the Canadians were.

I was on exercise in Proteus, when I saw this civvy walking in the opposite direction on the road near the camp. As I went past I noticed it was a pal from the RAOC who I had served with many years ago in 71 Aircraft Workshop,Detmold

I left in '93 and never met anyone at all, then about 3 years ago I was in Birmingham for a drink and a guy called Gaz Taylor bumped into me, we had served on Hong Kong (my last posting). Thanks to gaz I heard about the RAOC Board and the rest is history.

About 5 year ago I was in Nerja Spain out to see the start of a local Festival,
I heard this voice shout to some children.
" Don't you squirt that water at me!! I'll put that pistol where the sun don't shine"!!!
It was my drill instructor in training, from way back in 1959.
I had also served with him later in the far east and in Hameln .
Small world !!

There may be some among you who remember the last ever draft of NS men who had an extra six months added on to their time.
As may be expected they were all p***** off about it, one of them Tom Daley was more vociferous than most and used to slouch about the camp, in Paderborn in a most rebellious manner.
Years later, in '70, prior to moving to Hohne, we were vacating Maresfield Camp in Sussex. I'd been able to borrow a Rover (they were good like that), to move some of our bulkier kit up to my parents house in Brum.
Driving through Sheldon I stopped at a zebra crossing and who should slouch across the road but Tom Daley, and he still looked p***** off !

I had just got demobbed in May '56, and was whiling away the hours drinking through my demob pay (£184), when I rudely awakened by a telegram inviting me to go to Suez.
I rejoined bruised and busted from a motorcycle accident the previous night. I arrived at Colchester to join 2 Btn Scots Guards,3 Infantry Div (hey I'm a Cipher Bleep with mostly armoured background). We get packed off to Newport Barracks, Newport (now there someone used their imagination) in Wales. On our way to Barry Docks to ship out we drive through Cardiff, stopping at a red light we start to get the bird from a bunch of civvies in a cinema queue, one guy looks familiar, bloody Taff Gaskin one of my oppo's from 6 Armoured Div .. cheeky bugger asked me to bring him a bucket of sand back.

Len (Ciphers)

Quote :

cheeky bugger asked me to bring him a bucket of sand back.

LOL, that mad me laugh Len.

When I was in Osnabrück, I lived for a while with a German family in Landwehrstrasse. Across the road from the house were the Lancashire Fusiliers. I popped into the Naafi one evening for a beer or two, sat down and glanced across the room. Sat at another table was Sammy Shepherd, a mate who I had worked with down Bradford Colliery in Manchester some years before. I don't know who was the more surprised, him or me.

When i was with the AYT we were in the wildes of wales doing some outward bound type stuff. We instructors got an evening off and went to a local country pub for a few beers. the gents were out the back, just 4 walls and a trough, and no lights. i am having a pee and a guy walks in and stands next to me, eases springs, and i say to him, hi, hows it going, and he says, OK steve jones how are you. We were at apprentice college in carlisle together and had not seen each other in over 7 years.

One day I was walking past an escalator in the Potteries centre, in Stoke, when I heard a voice from above, calling my name.

Thinking the Grim Reaper had finally tracked me down, I looked up to see Bob Murdoch, a bloke I knew as a Sergeant in my old Regt, dressed as a security man.

Bob, like me, had come out of the army to face unemployment. He was reduced to chasing yobbos around a shopping precinct.

(The old Resettlement gang REALLY looked after ex-squaddies in those days).

brum wrote:

One day I was walking past an escalator in the Potteries centre, in Stoke, when I heard a voice from above, calling my name.

Thinking the Grim Reaper had finally tracked me down, I looked up to see Bob Murdoch, a bloke I knew as a Sergeant in my old Regt, dressed as a security man.

Bob, like me, had come out of the army to face unemployment. He was reduced to chasing yobbos around a shopping precinct.

(The old Resettlement gang REALLY looked after ex-squaddies in those days).

So did he let you off or did you have to pay for the goods?

Hee, naughty Teabag.

[quote="Teabag"]Did you ever bump into anyone in civvy strasse that you served with in Germany?



No.

I was at a reunion of members of 7 Fld Amb 1958-1961 last year and this year untill last year we had not seen each other for nearly 60 years as they were all NS and I went on to do 35 years, the best part was that we knew each other at once.

Brian

In 1991 I was posted to SEME for what became my last tour in the Army. Having taken over our MQ we went into Farnham to do some shopping, going down down one of the aisle in the supermarket a voice said Sgt G......., needless to say I was surprised not having been called that for some 26 years. It turned out to be an RASC Dvr called Chalky White who used to work in 12 Coy Wksp as he was a wiz kid with motor bikes and we had not seen one another since 1963.

Bob

Strange happenings to-day.I bumped into a guy i served with in 7 Sigs,Got talking over a few beers and his wife blurted, you were my shift commander at RAF Changi.She was a WRAF switchboard operater almost 43 yrs ago.He had arrived at Changi after i left and did a similar job.
More meetings are planned

never bumped in to anyone from my days until a couple of years ago, one of my sons asked me to do him a favour by taking a copy of his birth certificate up to the passport office in liverpool as they said he had not enclosed it and he needed his passport back ASAP,got to the office and there was a ticket system and a clock thing saying 3hrs 15min wait.

i had seen a guy in a corps of commisionars uniform as i went in but never paid any attention of him until he appeared behind me and i heard him say hey brownie are you sober,we had shared a room in bunde for two yrs.

it was great to see him but even better when he took me down this corridor and told this woman i was a mate of his and within 30 mins she sorted out my sons passport and i was on my way. just a pity we never got to go for a pint or three.

Ah, well the old stories are the best. I'd like to bump into a few blokes I served with - some to smack in the gob for being bullies and others to buy a pint for pointing me in the right direction!

Don't know about you but, not that I go to many, you never meet Officers at reunions, ex-rankers excepted.