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Royal Signals
1960s Service Life and Locations Re-Visited.
NOTICE: WEF 1 August 2016 this site transferred to jt-p.uk.
During the sixties Tony served for six years in the Royal Corps of Signals. Serving in the armed forces was an unforgettable experience, as is evident by the many websites devoted to service memories and friendships. This is my small contribution.
Looking back I have to say that with only a few trouble spots around the world we enjoyed a relatively quiet period in history. Unlike today, military bases and personnel then needed very little protection. As an older ex-soldier said to me at the time, "I was in when they were needin' 'em, not just feedin' 'em." and I guess that sums up being a squaddie in the sixties. We had a very easy time as you will see if you read what's here. I very much enjoyed my time in the Royal Signals and would not have missed it for the world.
This is 'Mercury' the messenger of the Gods, aka 'Jimmy', the Royal Corps of Signals emblem. Hover over it to see the Corps motto. It means Swift & Sure.
In 2006 I discovered Google Earth (GE) and Google Maps (GM). These gave me the idea of revisiting the places I served at to see how they look now. I've included some memories, events, scenes and sounds of the time.
During the '60s the Royal Signals had bases and personnel around the world. A booklet of the time (from which the front cover, a few photos and some adverts are shown in the adjacent slideshow) refers to personnel of the Royal Signals being deployed in Berlin, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Libya, Aden, Bahrein, Kenya, Malaya and Singapore. And seconded to units in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rhodesia/Nyasaland, the Arabian Peninsula, including Aden Protectorate Levies and Trucial Oman Scouts. In Washington, the Caribbean and South Afica. In addition, NATO in Norway, France, Turkey, Bangkok and the islands of Gan (I was scheduled to be posted to Gan but it was cancelled) and Christmas Island in the Pacific. And of course Germany and Belgium. The opportunities for overseas postings were immense - in fact they were an odds on certainty.
Click here to see the Pay Scales when I enlisted.
The majority of my service was spent in Germany, most of which Jean spent with me. My last tour was 8 months in Singapore and Malaya. Due to the short duration, I was unaccompanied and it was referred to as a 'Cooks Tour' (as in holiday not as in chefs or because it was hot).
Below are the places associated with my - as you were - our time with the Royal Signals. They are in chronological order. I've included the occasional photograph to show how it was at the time. There are more photos to see at the bottom of this page and in the Galleries, Royal Signals section - see button on menu above.
Each unit also has an aerial view, courtesy of GE, in which I've marked out the unit area as best I can recall. Hover over or tap the image to enlarge it. GE and GM update their imagery about every 3 - 5 years. As time passes you can see what imagery of the area is available using the button that opens a GM view of the area. Please note that (1) GE and GM don't use the same source and are not in sync. (2) GE has more up to date imagery than GM but requires the GE software on your computer. (3) When GM updates its' images, positions change slightly relative to the window I chose so may be off target.
Click on the titles below to see memories of each unit. Hover the mouse over (a) images to enlarge them, (b) text of this colour to display information, and (c) text that looks like this to display an image.
11th Signal Regiment, Catterick Camp, Yorkshire
Like so many others, this is where my service life in March 1962, began - 'The Depot'. Here's where we stopped being civvies and started learning how to be soldiers. Six hectic weeks of basic training. Spit & polish, square bashing, weapons training, map reading, command structure and army tea (which, rumour had it, was laced with bromide). If you'd never kept a tidy locker, pressed your clothes (with sharp creases in the right places), made your bed and bed pack or bumpered a floor, this is where you learned and didn't forget. And of course every time you moved it had to be at the double.
Here's the happy band of 24 sprogs, Troop Officer and NCOs, near the end of our six weeks (hover over to enlarge). I'm second from right in the middle row. Third from right is 'Jock' Robertson, fifth from right is Colin Baxter (who contacted me in May 2012) and fourth from right on the back row is Don Burns (who contacted me in September 2009).
This was taken after the inter-troop boxing match in which I 'volunteered' to take part. This was my first and last boxing match. The bout was three 1 minute (felt like 10 minute) rounds. We were matched by weight. My opponent was short & stocky and had boxed previously. He won. Watching was always enjoyable and it was all done properly. It was a big night that took place as each pair of Troop's completed their training. I'd attended two or three previously. The whole regiment was marched there to watch and were joined by the 'officers and their ladies'.
As can be seen in the picture above, Battle dress with coarse shirts was still issued at this time. This meant wearing 'ammo' boots
British Army Ammunition Boots with metal studs, toe and and heel plates. and webbing (gaiters and belt) with plenty of brass fittings - requiring boot polish, Blanco, Brasso, brushes, dusters and spit. Oh! and candle and spoon to really get a smooth, shiny finish on those dull and pimply toe caps
'Bulled up' toe caps. When first wearing your boots it took a little while to get used to them, particularly stopping or turning sharply, without finding your feet going out from under you. The smooth concrete floors in the barrack block, had sprogs going in all directions - usually down. Near the end of training, battle dress was replaced by No.2 Dress with the peaked cap, as still worn today. Some tried to emulate the Guards regiments by making the cap peak point down instead of out but then had to buy a new cap because we weren't the Guards.
Here I am after the boxing match. It must have been Sunday as I'm in civvies. The photo's taken outside the Sandhurst block and behind me can be seen where we'd spent so many leisurely hours - one of the drill squares (church!) and beyond that (over my left shoulder) the gym (where I rashly volunteered for the boxing match). During kit and room inspections items of kit or bedding that didn't meet the required standard could be seen on this grass having flown out the barrack windows to the upper left. This was a sign that the inspecting NCO was not entirely satisfied with the turnout of one or more 'earywigs' [sic] (as we were oft' called).
About the first time we formed up in our new army kit, we were marched down the road to the barbers for short back and sides. "What's under your beret is yours. What's not is mine." said the troop sergeant. When we next fell in some brave soul asked, "Where are we going now, Sergeant? "We're going to church, lad", came the reply. We were then marched onto the drill square and the same brave soul said he thought we were going to church. The sergeant replied, "This is my church and I'm your God." And at this church you saw many funny incidents as we learned to drill, with and without weapons, but woe betide if you were caught laughing.
One week of training was spent under canvas in the Yorkshire Dales. This was to put our newly acquired map reading and compass theory to practical use finding 'trig' points and rendezvous locations from map references - find them or miss lunch. It was our first encounter with 'compo' rations, the field cook house and shaving in half a mug of tea after having downed the first half. Here's me and my tent mates in our nice new combat dress. On the far right is an ex-miner (I think his name was Geoff) who, coming from Yorkshire, referred to boots as booits. I don't recall seeing any of them again after basic training.
We wore our No.2s (with web belts and 'ammo' boots) for our pass out parade and, for the first time, to the rousing sound of the Band of the Royal Signals - what an uplifting experience. We marched off with loads of bounce and swagger to the Corps quick march: Begone Dull Care. We were soldiers now.
You can hear part of the march by clicking the play button below.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
After passing out we were given a leave pass. I was able to get home to see Jean (my fiancé). It was a tedious and overlong journey by public transport but well worth it. The return journey involved sitting onboard the Catterick train in the early hours of Monday morning at Darlington station waiting for other trains to make the connection. Eventually, at about 5.30 a.m. we arrived at Camp Centre station then made our way to our units. This was a regular weekly service until the late 60s. (Click here for a history of the line and station with photos.) The station and line are now gone.
On our return we all went to a trade training regiment to learn the technical skills we had joined to learn and carry out. For me, this meant 8th Signal Regiment.
From 1961-64 the home of 11 Sigs. was at Vimy Lines, Catterick Garrison. The 2002 GE view below of the area still has a few recognizable features from 1962 but some have since disappeared.
The large building (a Sandhurst block) in the upper part of the picture is where we were billeted. The ground floor housed the regiment's support services - offices, laundry, cook house, etc. Barrack rooms were on the upper floor with each wing accommodating two Troops.
The Gymnasium building is still there. The Medical Centre (where we used to queue up for our jabs) and the NAAFI canteen have gone. Someone always seemed to be playing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (aka "Wimoweh") on the NAAFI jukebox and I didn't like it but the memory of it persists. A short medley of this and other popular jukebox plays of the time can be heard below.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
The drill squares are now car parks and a new building with grassed area. In fact there seems to be much more grass and shrubbery where I remember two very large drill squares with - to ensure our drill programme was maintained during inclement weather, thus avoiding demoralized squaddies - drill sheds for the use of.
The houses to the right have replaced very old buildings where we did our arms training and the Quarter-Master's Store where we received our first kit issue - for the use and wearing of.
Click this button to see the most recent map of the area above.
8th Signal Regiment, Catterick Camp, Yorkshire (1)
After basic training you went to either 8 or 24 Sigs. for trade training. I went to 8 Sigs. (Loos Lines) and was trained as a Telegraph Technician (Tele.Tech.).
No Sandhurst blocks here. Instead there were wooden 'Spider' blocks. Actually it was an improvement because they were echo free and quite snug. They had a 'drying room' that was kept really warm for drying wet clothing/washing. It was a very very tempting place to visit when doing a guard duty on a cold wet night. But great care had to be taken to not fall asleep in there - as some did.
Here's a few of us during our T3 course helping Bill Thompson out the fire exit in our leg of the spider. I'm 2nd down in the middle. Next to me is Don Burns and below us is John Leppington. Standing left is Roy Evers and right is Dave Allen. I can't remember the name of the Irish lad at the top.
Bill, Don and I met in basic training and did our T3 together. Later I was with Bill in Germany and saw Don in Singapore. I then lost contact with both until over forty years later. Bill contacted me in March 2007 and Don in September 2009.
This is where I did my first guard duty, armed with a pick-axe handle when on stag. What was it? Two hours on and four off if I remember right. I somehow managed to get 'Stick Man' once, thus being excused the stags on that guard.
Having by now been introduced to and enjoyed 'compo' rations many of us found that hardtack biscuits were quite tasty topped with either cheddar cheese or golden syrup. Together with a mug of hot cookhouse tea or cocoa (not coffee - that was dire) they made a very nice snack during the evening in the barrack room. A number of us made sure we always had the makings in our lockers. (There are a number of websites covering compo rations. Click here for compo rations, and for a USA slant with photo click here for hardtack. If you'd like to try them for yourself, this UK site sells current issue Army rations.)
Any spare time we had we'd spend at either the Harewood Club
NAAFI Harewood Club., the Camp Centre cinema, the outdoor swimming pool opposite the Harewood or the indoor one at Sandes Home followed by a meal there. If we had to be in camp on a Saturday morning, thus couldn't get home, as soon as we were off duty a few of us (one of whom was Gerry Aitken
Gerry Aitken 1962. and sadly I can't recall who the others were) would get the bus to Richmond
Richmond from the castle., then on to Darlington. We'd have a wander around to see what was on at the cinemas (I think there were three, one of which was the Odeon). We'd choose one for later then go and have a Chinese meal (with chips of course) (my first Chinese was here). After the meal we'd see our chosen film then catch a bus back to camp - no boozing. Sunday's in Catterick were dreadful, deadly dull days.
A musical association from this time is of the NAAFI (canteen) at morning break (they sold these lovely cream buns dusted with icing sugar) and on the jukebox was "Come Outside". Whenever I hear it I am right back there.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
Another popular song of the time, written and recorded by Carole King, always reminds me of the Harewood Club
Harewood Club Lounge, Catterick. c.1962. - do you know the one I mean? (Answer below.)
Before I joined up I owned a Francis Barnett motorbike - seen on the right with Jean. I'd not used it during basic training but having experienced public transport I now began using it to get to and from Catterick. This was my first motorbike - a 197cc two stroke. It was a nice bike but was under-powered for regular use to Catterick so I traded it for a 350cc twin cylinder Triumph T21
Triumph T21 350cc twin.. Due to some mechanical problems I only kept it a short time, changing it for a Velocette Viper 350cc - seen on the left with Jean. (We usually wore crash helmets although they didn't become compulsory until 1973.) Eventually however, one winter night on my return to Catterick my interest in motorcycling ended. It rained for the whole journey and although I wore a Belstaff Trialmaster
Belstaff Trialmaster jacket c.1962. suit, dubbined fur-lined boots and gauntlets with inner gloves I was very cold and wet long before my journey was over. When I next went home I got rid of the bike and began hitch-hiking to and fro.
Hitch-hiking was the favoured mode of transport for many squaddies. It was usually quicker and more direct, almost like having your own vehicle. Each journey was an adventure because you didn't know what was going to stop and how far it would take you. The difficult part was each end of the journey getting to & from the A1 and, for me, having to resort to using the bus near home because local traffic didn't stop. At that time the A1 had sections of single carriageway, dual carriageway and, for me, one section of motorway, the Doncaster Bypass - the A1(M). There where plenty of roundabouts and some built-up areas that you went through, e.g. Boroughbridge and Ferrybridge. A very busy, quite small roundabout was at Wetherby where traffic either continued south or west to Leeds. We hitched in uniform then because people on trunk roads stopped for servicemen. From Catterick I always started at the northern roundabout of Catterick Bridge bypass (very difficult to get a lift on a straight stretch). As they came off the roundabout there was a row of squaddies with their thumbs stuck out. There were good lifts and bad lifts. Bad lifts were slow ones and no roundabout drop-offs. Coming back one night I was at the start of the A1(M) and got a lift in an Aston Martin DB3
Aston Martin DB3 c.1960.. The driver had on full safety harness (as did I) and crash helmet (I had my beret). He entered small roundabouts at 70 mph and exited at 90 mph. Breathtaking.
Towards the end of '62 we heard another new recording artist, Dionne Warwick. Below is a reminder of it, made over 40 years later.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
In February 1963, having spent 11 months at Catterick, I attained T3 status (and thus my first stripe), and was posted to 608 Signal Troop, Germany. My weekends hitch-hiking home to see Jean were over for the time being but were to resume when I returned later for my T2 course.
This 2002 GE view of the area has few recognisable features from 1962-64. In Loos Lines there is little evidence of all the buildings there once were. Apart from the guardroom, these had been wooden 'Spiders' and blocks as I recall. What remains is the parade square where we used to form up on fire drills and guard duty, and the few minor roads that joined Loos Road that runs from the bottom left of the picture. Marne Lines had been a mix of wooden and brick buildings, and a row of brick 'H' blocks.
Click this button to see the most recent map of the area above.
(Answer: Carol King, 'It Might As Well Rain Until September'.)
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
608 Signal Troop, Viersen, Germany (1)
My first operational posting was to 608 Signal Troop (Eqpt.), Germany early in 1963.
It was my first time out of the UK and first experience of flying. Bill Thompson and I flew in a Vickers Viscount
My first flight was in one of these. turboprop operated by British United Airways to RAF Wildenrath, Germany, from Manchester
Early 1960s Departure Lounge Ringway
Early 1960s apron and terminal building (as the airport was then called).
The winter of 1962-63 is on record for being a bad one throughout Europe. The UK had a lot of snow so we were not surprised to arrive in a snow covered Germany. Transport was waiting to take Bill to his unit but there was none waiting for me. (The next time I saw Bill was about a year later.) I spent the night in transit at Wildenrath. Next day transport arrived to collect me and I was taken to 608.
Once outside the RAF base I had my first close-up look at the country where I was to spend (though unknown to me at the time) the next four years as I was driven (on the opposite side of the road) about 20 miles
2010 Google Map view of route through snow covered countryside and villages to Viersen. It seemed so different. Different signage on roads was the first thing I noticed, soon followed by different looking buildings and vehicles. The most commonly seen cars at that time were Volkswagens galore, Mercedes-Benz, Ford
Ford Taunus 17M 1959 and BMWs. But there were all sorts of other vehicle makes I'd never seen or heard of - Opel
Opel Kapitan 1955, Wartburg
Wartburg 311 deluxe, Glas
Glas Goggomobil T250 Sedan, Simca
Simca 1100 c.1962. It all seemed very different. And everything was in German. Verstanden?
I didn't know until I arrived that the Troop was attached to an RAOC unit at 15 ABOD. I arrived to find only a R. Signals Staff Sergeant and a German civilian female clerk. The Troop was being disbanded and everyone else had gone - I guess someone forgot to read the signal. I spent about two weeks there putting updates in EMERs (which I don't recall hearing of until then), while they sorted out where I was to go. Life was very, very different from being in a training unit.
The base was manned by German civilians with only a relatively small British military contingent. There were only a few junior NCOs and Privates who 'lived in' so they were billeted at 17 RVD, Ayrshire Barracks, Mönchengladbach (another RAOC unit). Thus myself and about a half dozen RAOC lads were transported by army bus every day between 17 RVD and 15 ABOD - a round trip of 16 miles.
2010 Google Map view of route. My billet was a room to myself in an old house that was being renovated so we had to sort of make do. The house was one of a number providing barrack and office accommodation and is in the centre (labelled Barrack Rooms) of this 2004 GE image. It has since become a preservation area, which is why it still exists today. This was my first experience of a working unit and it was OK. The cookhouse served up good food and some enterprising local had set up a stall inside selling clothes and various items. Between my billet and the cookhouse was the NAAFI Corporal's Mess. With nothing else to do, I went there in the evenings for coffee and hot meat pie. I hadn't started drinking alcohol yet so I got some good humoured stick from the others in there when I ordered a coffee. I'd never seen so many tough looking guys and broken noses in one place. I recall one night they were talking about going into town but not wearing a tie. It was alte frauen nacht (old wives night) or to give it it's proper name Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday when women may cut men's ties off and kiss any passing man. I didn't know it then but this was my introduction to Karneval. See the boxout below to know more.
Ayrshire Barracks (17 RVD) was situated on what had previously been a Luftwaffe airfield and in the 1960s was a British Army stores base for military vehicles of every description. The area where tanks and armoured vehicles were stored is now a football stadium and the home of Borussia Mönchengladbach (once a top class football club). The stadium can clearly be seen in the GE image above. Apart from the preserved houses and what remains of the Luftwaffe main runway there are few recognizable features from 1963.
Click this button to see latest map of the area above.
Rhineland Karneval
Rhineland's Karneval season begins on the anniversary of the WW1 armistice - the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. The season rests over Advent and Christmas then recommences in January. It culminates in a pre-Lent, week long celebration where everyone has their fill of what they enjoy before they give it all up for Lent from Ash Wednesday.
The Monday before Ash Wednesday is called Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) when big parades and gatherings take place in various cities. Köln (Cologne) is considered to have the best parade taking about 6 hours to pass by. Many people of all ages take part in the celebrations and wear fancy dress costumes. They really go to town and enjoy themselves. It's all well organised to ensure all goes well and there are clubs and guilds dedicated to it. TV is full of it with shows on different nights from different places. Many videos of the parades and other events are available on YouTube. Click the following link for one with an English commentary about The merrymakers at Cologne Carnival.
Each year a Karneval song is chosen. The song I have never forgotten is "Humba Tätära", first performed by Ernst Neger on February 5, 1964. It was a huge hit, sung everywhere. In a 2009 TV vote on the 111 largest carnival hits, it ranked third. Jean & I saw him singing it on the TV carnival show from Mainz in 1965 and 66. To see a YouTube video of him singing it and a later carnival song (that you might recognize) click here. The first placed carnival song in the 2009 vote was "Heal, Heal Gänsje" also sung by Ernst Neger - a much gentler song - and also available on YouTube. He died on 15 January 1989, one day after his 80th birthday.
In the UK, a satellite receiver and dish pointed at Astra 19.2E will receive the German free-to-air (freeview) TV channels. WDR is broadcast from Köln and SWR from Stuttgart so full coverage of carnival is available.
16th Signal Regiment, Krefeld, Germany
After my sojourn at 608 Signal Troop/17 RVD I was posted to 16th Signal Regiment, Krefeld (about 10 miles NE of Viersen). On transfer I was given leave to return home during which Jean and I were married. Five days later my leave pass expired and I returned to Germany to 16 Sigs. It was 3 months before I saw Jean again.
Bradbury Barracks is where 16 Sigs. (and 16th Regt. RA) were based. In the above link, the second photo (Guard Room) shows the fields opposite the main gate (shown left). I remember trekking straight across that field a few times from a pub we frequented. We used either the track or road to get there. But after coming out of the pub after a bier you got your bearings from the camp lights and off you set.
I was back in a barrack room again (although I later moved to a two man room with Martin Prior) and putting some of my Tele. Tech. training to use 'down the hole' in the comcen workshop maintaining Creed 7B teleprinters, perforators and 6S tape readers.
At some point later we began working shifts of 8hrs. on, 24 off, 15 on, 24 off. Each night shift had one Tele. Tech. to man the Workshop and one Line Tech. to man System Control. Both were allowed an evening break and when your Line Tech shift buddy (mine was Martin Prior) went off to the NAAFI you had to take over in System Control. After a few times it wasn't a problem although there always seemed to be something new cropping up. One of our duties in System Control was to monitor signal strength (ZBZ 1 to 5) and switch transmission to the alternative mode when strength dropped. We also had to contact the BundesPost and report "Der lietung von wherever bis Krefeld ist kaput." With such fluid Deutsch we didn't need to shout to be understood. They would call back when the line was no longer 'kaput'. I was quite nervous the first time I was left with responsibility for System Control.
I didn't drink or smoke when I arrived but did both before I left about a year later. Looking back there were a number of 'firsts' and one 'last' during my time at 16.
- I saw the last National Serviceman there posted out. He was given VIP treatment.
- The first contingent of Signals WRAC were posted in bringing about quite a change in many squaddie's behaviour and off-duty appearance about camp.
- I heard and heard of The Beatles for the first time (due to the WRACs selecting them on the cookhouse jukebox). This was one of them. You probably know it.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
- I was introduced to brandy & coke, German mustard (senf ), German bier and ticks on beer mats. And to pay for these, the Deutschmark (£1 = 11DM).
- I learned my first words of squaddie Deutsch. Guten abend. Zwei bier bitte. Noch zwei. Wie viele, bitte? Danke schon. 'wiedersehen. And of course, Vie gater schtraps. To which the correct response was Schwarz, danke.
- Buying cigarettes (I didn't smoke until I came here) and buying them in packs of 200. Rothmans tipped as I recall. (It was the late eighties before I eventually gave it up.)
- Seeing the effect ultra violet (UV) light had on white objects - all aglow in every bar. I'd never seen anything like it, as I suppose most Brits hadn't at the time.
- I had my first Halb haenchen mit fritten
Half chicken & chips (schmecken gut) from the Balkan Grill after 'shooting through' for a few beers in Krefeld.
- I had my first of many trips to Holland.
- I also had my first go at sailing - more on that shortly.
In the postcard above (hover over to enlarge) the top left pic shows the main tram stop that we used in town. Two types of tram operated from that stop - the local tram and the inter-city tram (the yellow tram). The inter-city used a wider track and went to Dusseldorf. The tram-line from camp is at the bottom. We used the tram between the Eisstadion terminus and the Ostwall/Rheinstrasse junction. The yellow Volks' at the bottom of the pic would get the view of Rheinstrasse seen in the top right pic. I bought Jean an Omega wristwatch from a Jewellers on the far left of that pic.
The 'we' I refer to was Keith Durrant
Keith Durrant fixing something - he never stopped., 'Jock' Wishart, Dave 'Piggy' Poole, Martin Prior, Dave 'Punchy' Ayres, Cliff Monks, Ken Northey and others. During the summer of '63 we sunbathed (kein bier) down the road on the man-made 'beach' behind the Tivoli bar. After coming off shift this was a pleasant place to relax on a nice summer morning. At lunchtime we'd either go back to camp or have 'ham und eier'
Ham and eggs (schinken mit ei) (as we called it) with a beer.
In the early summer Keith and I decided to join the sailing club run by Capt. Boast. (Keith and I first met during our T3 courses at 8 Sigs. We were on different Tele. Tech. courses but shared the back of a Morris Minor van for a few weekends with others getting a lift. It was winter '62-'63 and was very cold in the van but it was a lift.)
The Regiment had two GP14 sailing dinghys. Our joining doubled the club membership because I only recall two other members - Dave Tanner and a WO. Our sailing took place at a Dutch sailing club by the Maas canal in Roermond, Holland. The stretch of water had large barges on the town side (as can be seen in the photo below) and club dinghys on the canal side. On our first visit a Bedford 3 tonner
Bedford 3 ton truck with rear canvas cover. took us and the two GP14s there where we off-loaded and assembled them. Thereafter, over the summer, Keith, Dave and I travelled in the back of Capt. Boast's Merc' every (shift permitting) Saturday (with his family in front) and spent a very relaxing and pleasant day away from camp. This being the army of course you couldn't just mess about in boats, you had to work toward achieving a certificate of sailing competence. I'd only ever been in a rowing boat before so there were a few things to learn. One of which was capsizing the boat then righting it - that water was cold.
When the WRACs arrived some of them needed teleprinter training. The training area was at the top of (I think) the WRAC block and I was given the task of keeping the machines in running order. Thus I spent a couple of weeks up there with the ladies between rooms and teleprinters.
About mid-June I got a two week pass and return flight home. This time the airports were Dusseldorf and Gatwick
Gatwick Airport Postcard c.1963.. I hadn't seen or spoken to Jean (telephone contact was possible but difficult to arrange) for three months so it was almost like meeting for the first time. I stayed with her at her mum & dad's place. It's funny but when you met people during leave one of the first things they'd say was "When do you go back?" and it was the last thing you wanted to think about. There were then about 50,000 of us in Germany but on leave people would say, "Oh! so-and-so's serving in Germany. Do you know him?" The two weeks were soon over and it was to be four months before I saw and spoke to Jean again.
Back in camp, apart from sailing our free time was spent either on our pits listening to BFBS radio (I particularly enjoyed '1800 Club' with record requests from British Forces in Germany), socializing in the mess, eating in the cookhouse (you had to take your own mug and utes), going to the 'pics' at the AKC cinema on camp, taking a stroll to a country pub or going down town to either look around the shops or drink in the bars. All the bars had UV lighting which helped to create a great atmosphere with the pop music of the time. Click on the player below to hear a short medley of popular UK and German recordings of the time.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
At some point during that summer the whole regiment carried out military training in the field. Groups of about 50 of us at a time, chosen from different sections of the regiment (so that it could continue to fulfill its normal role), spent a week under canvas in a wooded area near the Dutch border (it was near to Venlo, which at the time meant nothing to me). It was quite novel as I hadn't been under canvas since basic training. We learned about various military field crafts and things like 'thunder-boxes' and 'desert roses'. One night, for a bit of fun, we held a court marshal of one of the officers on the charge of 'having provided sharp edged desert roses'.
There was a night exercise where platoons were halved and put on different trucks with the tarpaulins down so you couldn't see out. They went off in different directions and stopped occasionally to offload a half platoon. This was to simulate a parachute drop that split each platoon. The first task was to establish from our maps, compasses and the area (in the dark), where we were. Each platoon had a rendezvous location as a map grid reference so once you found out where you were, you then located the two points on the map then made your way to the platoon rendezvous point. You had to be careful because there were army vehicles (the supposed enemy) nipping about trying to find you. I was responsible for my half platoon so had the maps & compass. I recall making our way through a boggy area (about half way) and later lying in a field of cabbages near a road when a wagon stopped and squaddies jumped out. My group quickly and quietly crouched and moved quickly away. Two fields later when we paused I realised the compass was missing - I'd left it where we were lying. I had to go back to retrieve it - which luckily I did. We got to the rendezvous but the other half never turned up. Our objective was another map reference but we lost so much time waiting for the others that we gave up and found our way back to camp. You can imagine the reception we received when we got in at about 2 a.m. having failed.
As winter began 'Jock' Wishart and I were posted back to 8 Sigs. Catterick for our T2 course (see second part of 8th Sigs.). We returned to 16 Sigs early in '64 and after a few weeks I was posted to 614.
I think it may have been just prior to my 614 posting that the Corporal's Mess was transferred to a building across from the WRAC block and by the gym. I can remember the opening night and having a few 'carly & limes' and a good night being had by all. But I don't remember many other nights in there. I remember lots of nights in the old mess where I learned to drink and smoke. 'Zimmy' (Frau Zimmerman) served behind the counter. I developed a liking for hot meat pies covered in German mustard and still cover my meat pies in senf to this day - I can't get the senf they had in the mess though.
The 2002 image to the right shows Bradbury Barracks layout as it was. Much of the barracks remain so it was easy to mark out the buildings I knew. The Comcen relied mainly on BundesPost provided land lines, but in a field on a small hill in the upper right corner of the site (now a car park) there were radio transmitter-receiver vehicles and aerials for use when lines went down - as they often did.
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8th Signal Regiment, Catterick Camp, Yorkshire (2)
Toward the end of 1963 I returned to 8th Sigs. for my T2 course (getting my second stripe on passing it).
This time the accommodation was less than salubrious. It was in an old brick 'H' block in Marne Lines with a stove at one end of the room that we had to keep well fed or freeze. Ah! Such fond memories. It was like living in the film "Carry On Soldier". Here's a few of us who shared this billet. Left to right are 'Jocks' Robertson (see 11 Sigs.) and Wishart (see 16 Sigs.), Jim Saunders, me, can't recall, and finally, Ted Edwards.
Someone had an Austin A40 Farina
Austin A40 Farina Mk-I c1960 and he liked to get home (Newton Abbot - a good distance) when he could so he was happy to get help with the petrol. His A40 had a heater and a radio - optional extras in those days. The lift was quite regular and saved a lot of hitch-hiking time. He dropped me off in Leicester where I then caught a bus and a bus back on a Sunday night to get to a pick-up point by 10 o'clock for the return trip. One Friday - 22 November, 1963 - on the way home came the news on the car radio that President Kennedy had been assassinated. I remember where we were when we heard it. We couldn't believe it.
Our billet had at some time been a classroom because at one end it had a large scrolling blackboard. To cheer the place up a bit over Christmas, 'Jock' Wishart drew this on it. It includes his version of 'Jimmy'
Wishart's version of 'Jimmy'. with Andy Capp and Flo (Andy's wife).
Once you met him you were unlikely to forget Wishart. Among my memorabilia I found a write-up he'd done in the style of a newspaper report on a football match. Jock's Football Match Report. It must have been typed on a teleprinter and is his version of a match we had one wintery sports afternoon (Wednesdays). He would always see the funny side of things and make us laugh.
Three things that stick in memory from my T2 are:
- My 21st birthday occured whilst on the course. An unforgettable non-event. I spent part of the evening in the NAAFI and that says it all. It was dismal.
- One lunchtime in the cookhouse I was distracted by someone as I made my way to my table. I held my main course in one hand and puddding in the other. My pudding dish held a good serving of runny custard. I stopped to reply to whoever and when I turned to continue I looked down to find my custard dish had tipped slightly and discharged a fair quantity over 'Jock' Wishart's head. He was transfixed, frozen, as custard ran off his hair and down his face. I don't have a pic of that but wish I did.
- Near to the cook house there was a wooden building that inside looked as if it might have been a small theatre at some time but was very basic. About once a fortnight or so we had a free film show. There was a main feature followed by 'artistic' shorts by 'Warwick Films'. They were usually well attended.
I've included the next photo because some of 8th Sigs. buildings can be seen (hover over to enlarge). The large building on the right is at the riding stables. Those to the left are Loos Lines and on the far left, the start of Marne Lines. The photo was taken on a short-cut between 8 Sigs. and Camp Centre. (There are now buildings where it was taken.)
The photo on the right, taken after the one above it, shows us on our way to Sandes Home for a cuppa - it was near the end of the course in January '64. From the left, Norman Troughton, Jim Saunders, 'Jocks' Hare and Robertson and yours truly. I didn't see any of them again after the course. However, Jim Saunders found this site and contacted me using the Feedback form in August 2012.
There are more pictures taken on the course in the Galleries, Royal Signals section - see button on menu above.
My musical association of this time is from one of the films that was released at this time and I saw at one of the cinemas - 'From Russia With Love'. Below is a mix of samples of the soundtrack theme and vocal by Matt Munro.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
When my T2 was over it was back to Germany and 16th Sigs. but as I was to find, it was to be for only a short time before moving on again. I loved Germany but I was away from Jean. No more weekends with her. I needed her with me in Germany.
This 2002 GE view of the area provides no evidence of Marne Lines presence here. There is no sign of the many buildings, parade square or road. It's not surprising the buildings have all gone as they were past there sell-by date when we were there, particularly the 'H' blocks. But now you would never know any of it ever existed. In this area my labels had to be positioned by faded memory. I can't image the number of squaddies that must have been trained here, ate in the cookhouse and drank in the NAAFI. All sign has disappeared in a relatively short space of time. From what I've discovered elsewhere, what began in 1945 as 1st Trades Training Battalion, became 8th Sigs in 1959, finally passed into Corps history in 1994 - 30 years after our T2.
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614 Signal Troop (Park), Bracht, Germany
My posting to 614 (about 20 miles WSW of Krefeld) came unexpectedly and at short notice. It was about April (1964).
614 was between Bracht and Brüggen
2010 Google Map view of 614 & 3BAD locations. and was attached, for support services (barracks, cookhouse, etc.), to 3 BAD (an RAOC unit). 3 BAD was then the largest ammunition base in Western Europe and consequently was in the middle of nowhere. For those in barracks there was no adjoining town (as there was at 16 Sigs) to which you could go for entertainment. There was only the AKC cinema and the NAAFI. The barracks (Marlborough Barracks) is now a caravan park and hostel which can be seen by clicking here. 614 Signal Park was situated adjacent to the main entrance to the ammunition base.
This photo (courtesy of Bill) shows most of the Troop before I arrived (hover over to enlarge). Sitting L-R are S/Sgt Pearson, Major Robert Salisbury (OC), Sgt. Tony Sammut. Standing L-R are Bill Thompson, Dave Wormald, 'Geordie' Harding, Dennis Stevens, Ernie Calder (REME), 'Pop' ?, 'Barney' Barnes, Ken Muller, Richard 'Taff' Brain, Brian Streetly, Pete LeGros, Joe Ratcliffe. There were also six German civilians. For example, 'Joe' in the workshop, Melita in the troop office and Carl her husband, the carpenter. (Brian and I made contact again in February 2007, Dave in February 2009 and Dennis in May 2010.)
Life at 614 was very different to 16. I was in the technical workshop with Bill, Dave, Tony and 'Joe'. With a chess game permanently in play and daily crossword, our main task was to test n-thousand field telephones
Field telephone type 'F'. held in storage. Utterly boring. Thankfully, other duties broke the monotony and took me out and about driving (after I qualified for my military driving licence). 'Taff' Brain was the unit driver, soon to be joined by 'Dixie' Dean, but when they were busy one or more of the other troop members assisted with the driving duties.
A Mon-Sat routine was the mail run to JHQ Rheindahlen (which closed in 2013). This was done in either the Hillman Husky
Hillman Husky Series 3. or Austin 1 tonner
Our Austin 1 Ton truck with L-R 'Biff' (he was before my time) and Dennis. (Photo courtesy of Dennis.). But there were other runs and for some I used a Bedford 3 tonner
Bedford 3 Ton truck.. I loved driving the 3 tonner because of the commanding view you had and the sound the tyres made on the road as you drove along.
On the Rheindahlen
2011 Google Map view of Rheindahlen centre showing regular calling points. run after dropping off and picking up the mail at the Sorting Office I parked at the NAAFI shop, did any shopping and then popped into the YWCA shop for newspapers, magazines, and whatever, then into the cafe for elevenses before heading back. I found the various trips very enjoyable and I got to see much more of the country that I'd now been in for over a year and at no cost to me.
Click this button to see the most recent map of what was JHQ Rheindahlen.
Driving wasn't the only alternative activity. The troop and civilians had spent some time and effort converting the storeroom by the tech. workshop into a social club they named 'The Last Drop Inn'. When I arrived it was finished and in use. They'd made a first class job of it and were running it as a proper concern - including draught German beer. The lads in barracks took turns as bar staff and it was open every lunch time and evening when requested by troop members for use by them and their guests. Some nights it didn't open. Other nights there was a good crowd. The OC and his wife often called in. The record player was always in use often playing The Beatles and other popular artists of the time. People used to bring in LPs so that we had a good mix of pop music.
The photo below (courtesy of Bill) is when the club opened with Bill taking a turn on bar duty. We used to take our lunch breaks in there and play quite competitively on the fussball table
Fussball table - ours was a dark wood finish.. Tony Sammut and others preferred playing the one-armed bandit and we would occasionaly hear the sound of a jackpot win. During the week someone local used to arrive selling filled bread rolls. I think they used to go around the various areas of 3 BAD and had a good little business going.
To get everyone together enjoying themselves, themed evenings were also held occasionally and these were always well attended by all troop members, wives and guests. The first one I attended was a Tramps Ball where everyone was required to dress smartly - not! Those living in barracks raided the civilian lockers and put on whatever we could find - it was all returned afterwards. Just about everyone dressed shabbily. That's me on the left in this photo. I don't know who the young lady was but the other guy was Neil Morris.The evening was a big success and others followed, including an outside event with a pig roasted on a spit. A whole new bar was built under the two tier storage with a fenced area in the yard (the area in shade in the bottom GE view). This was a special for officers and their families from other units and the OC's boss. We were hosting it and therefore worked as waiters or bar staff for the whole evening. It was amazing to see, with seats and tables made from big and small cable drums, coloured lights strung around and music from the club record player.
"Taff" Brain bought a Renault Dauphine
Renault Dauphine 1960. and would (when he wasn't washing, polishing, valeting and admiring it) take a few of us for a night out to some of the local bars and over the German-Dutch border into Venlo and Roermond. A favoured bar in Venlo was the "Blue Note" where jazz was played, often by a live group. This bar bill
A receipt I kept from one visit. shows the price of drinks in Guilders and Cents - we equated 1 Dutch Guilder to 2 British Shillings (10p today).
The club bought a VolksBus
Volkswagon Volksbus - similar colours to this. (second-hand) so that troop members without cars could enjoy group trips to various places including the UK.
I now hadn't seen Jean for about three months and I wanted her with me, so I found some accommodation for us, got the OC's OK, went home and brought her back with me. (Three years would pass before we saw the UK again.) Our journey was by rail and ship and when we got to Liege in Belgium we found some of our luggage wasn't on the train. (It was mainly Jean's clothing and it was to be over a month before we saw it again - but we did get it back.) We travelled on, spent the night at a hotel in Roermond then travelled on again next morning. We eventually arrived at Venlo station
Venlo station postcard, 1964. in Holland to be picked up by 'Taff' Brain. I then learned that the accommodation had been let to someone else so we had nowhere to stay. Missing from the troop photo is Sgt. Jack Quayle
Jack and Colleen Quayle. (Courtesy of Dennis.). He and his wife Colleen let us stay with them for a few days then we moved into the Hotel Neuenhofen
Hotel Neuenhofen, Brüggen, 2008. where two RAOC families were also staying. The paved area in the picture was then the main road through Brüggen, but the hotel entrance is as we knew it. We stayed there about three weeks.
We then found rented rooms (two) at a bar, also in Brüggen, and set up our first home together. We lived over the bar for about a year, and Jean became very adept at cooking on a two plate electric hob. The bar was owned by Henry
Heinz (wearing hat), Hannalore (his wife), his nephew and son at the rear of the bar. (as Heinz wished to be called), who was a great landlord, spoke English and enjoyed a good laugh. He became a very good friend to us. During this time we saved for a car and eventually bought a new Renault R8
Our Renault R8 (R1132) (1964).. As I recall, it cost £470, which in 2013 was equivalent to £7,940 or £17,910. Saving for it required us to live very frugally but we did it and could then get out and about more. We were now able to go to Venlo and Roermond, visit my mates Keith and 'Jock' Wishart at 16 Sigs. and meet their wives Patsy and Maureen, and at Christmas (1964) drive along snow covered roads to pick up Keith & Patsy to spend Christmas day together at 'Jock's' place near Düsseldorf.
We also attended 614 Troop dinner party in the club with everyone in their Sunday best. It was quite a gathering of all troop members and wives plus guests. The photo shows (L-R) Bill Thompson, Steve Bloom, Pete Roberts and Jean. Jean wore a brown corduroy suit she'd bought from 'C&A' in Venlo with a pair of brown suede shoes her mum & dad had sent her. All the ladies were presented with floral buttonholes to wear. As usual at 614 events, a very good time was had by all with dancing to The Beatles, Dave Clark Five, etc., - on records of course, although many British groups were playing live in German bars then. Here's a sample below.
(If you don't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
The Queen's Review
In May 1965 I had to report to 16 Sigs in preparation for a review by the Queen and the Duke during their visit to Germany. It was the first time since ..... (don't mention the war) that the British monarch had visited Germany. It turned out to be quite an event. A group of Royal Signals from the Krefeld area were assembled, briefed on the programme ahead and told what was required of us. Of course we were inspected and drilled to make sure we were up to scratch - and politely advised if improvement was required.
The review was held near Sennelager (120 miles east of Krefeld) and we travelled there on the Sunday to our accommodation in what was described as 'cavalry barracks'. We were billeted in what had previously been stables with hay troughs on the walls. Our beds were old double bunks and a pile of palliasse covers were at the door. We were instructed to fill them next door. Next door was a barn filled with straw. That night some went to sleep on top of big sausage shaped mattresses.
We had two rehearsal days (Monday & Tuesday) with the review on Wednesday 25th May, as can be seen to the right on the front cover of the Dismounted Parade programme (hover over to enlarge). We were transported each day and fed (packed lunches and tea from urns) at a forming up area off the review area (Bad Lippspringe Sports Arena) where we joined other Royal Signals. The area was huge, with vehicles and squaddies from just about every branch of the army in Germany, as can be seen by clicking this link to see the participants. It was quite a logistical exercise. We rehearsed forming up, marching on, dressing off, standing to attention and at ease a number of times, royal salute, and marching off. As there were 6000 of us plus 700 bandsmen. It took some time for all this to happen. By the time those on the outer reaches heard a command those nearest had carried it out.
On the afternoon of the parade we all marched on, dressed off and waited for the Queen & Duke's arrival. After the Royal Salute the review took place and the Queen & Duke went by standing in the back of a Land Rover about 20 yards in front of me. They attended two reviews that day - mounted and dismounted. It was an opportunity for the army to show off and it certainly did that. Click the following link to see more of the Queen's Parade 1965 programme.
Marching on and off to the massed bands was incredible as was the sound of 6000 pairs of boots swishing through the grass.
It can't have been long after my return to 614 that the unit was disbanded (not, I hasten to add, because of something I'd done at the review). Some were posted out and the rest of us transferred to become 608 Signal Troop (Eqpt.). I couldn't believe it. I was going back to 15 ABOD, Viersen.
A lot of photos were taken at 614. In addition to the above, a few more are available in the Gallery here and many more can be seen at the Royal Signals Contact Site, created by Brian Streetly.
The 2007 GE view below shows locations relevant to the Bracht to Brüggen road on the right. The row of married quarters where Jack and Ernie lived are still there but are now homes to German families. I recall eating fritten mit mayo
Chips and mayonnaise. in the chippy.
The GE view to the left is a close-up of the Park with labels to indicate the purpose of some buildings (hover over to enlarge). All other parts are the yard and storage sheds. This 2007 view of the Park (not the outer area) looks just as it did when it closed in 1965. Sometime later, possibly 2010, the buildings were demolished and area cleared. It's surprising that it lasted so long. When this article was created in February 2011 the button below showed the same view.
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608 Signal Troop, Viersen, Germany (2)
In June 1965 614 Signal Troop was disbanded and those who were left transferred to 15 ABOD, Viersen, an RAOC unit about 11 miles east of 614 as the crow flies. For Jean and I the transfer included the bonus of getting our first married quarter; more of which shortly. This map shows the relative locations of 614, 608 and our quarter. (Hover over to enlarge.)
Those who transferred included Bill Thompson, Brian Streetly, Dave Wormald, Dennis Stevens, Tony Sammut, Eddie Howells, Jim Tierney, Joe Jones, Arthur Teasdale and Charlie ??. There may have been others but how many of us there were that formed 608 I don't recall. We had a new OC for 608 - Major Hoskings - and to bring the troop up to strength new people were posted in; one of these was FoS Paul. But the troop was smaller than 614 both in terms of personnel and the troop area. This consisted of a workshop, storeroom, and two offices (the troop and OC's), located on the first floor in the corner of one of the four large warehouses of 15 ABOD.
Below is a basic plan of the depot, drawn with the help and photos of Chris Kimpton (ex-RAOC), on the earliest available GE image - October 2000 - which still has remnants of the earlier topography. (The depot closed in 1992 and all trace of it has now disappeared.) 608 Troop were in the building in the center marked PC&A.
Gate 'B'
Gate 'B', 1976. and Gate 'A'
Gate 'A', 1976., marked on the above plan at the left and right, are the depot entrances. Although taken about 10 years later, the photos of the entrances (courtesy of Chris Kimpton) look much the same as in our time. The large building in the background of Gate 'B' photo, is the RSSD, the smallest of the four warehouses. In the center of Gate 'A' photo can be seen the top of the water tower, shown as the round object in the center of the depot plan.
Click this button to see the latest map of the area above. What was then the long straight road through the depot is now An den Herreneichen and Flämische Allee.
Our married quarter was in the village of Waldniel. One side of the street was British army married quarters and the other side was German homes. We were the first house in the second of three short terraces as can be seen in this photo with Jean at the front door. It included everything you needed for a home from mustard spoon to 3 piece suite. We had a large living room across the rear, entrance hall, small 'L' shaped kitchen with steps to the cellar (that's the kitchen window between Jean and our blue Renault car), and upstairs large and small bedrooms, and bathroom. The cellar had four rooms - laundry, tool store (with tools: lawn mower, spade, etc.) with steps up to garden, briquettes store, and boiler room (for hot water) with coke store. The briquettes were used in the warm air central heating system. The box on the wall by our car houses the emergency telephone for the quarters. Jean and I had now been married over two years and this was our first real home together. We were very pleased with our quarter and the location. It was a 16 miles round trip to 15 ABOD but petrol was very cheap for British Forces. As with cigarettes and spirits, petrol was duty-free for a limited quantity per week/month that was quite sufficient for normal consumption.
16 Base Vehicle Depot, Olen, Belgium
Although 608 had a workshop at 15 ABOD I cannot recall doing any work in it. Unlike 614 we didn't have Field Telephones to inspect (thank heaven). The tasks we were given were at other locations - the first one being at 16 BVD, another RAOC unit, this one in Belgium. This was about 80 miles away, took about 2 hours on normal roads via two border controls (in those days) and thus not within reasonable daily commuting distance (which people today would laugh at, but this was back in the 1960s). The map below shows the route. Eichenstrasse is where 15ABOD Gate 'A' was located and Britselaan (British Lane), near Olen, is where 16BVD camp was located (and like 15ABOD is no longer there).
We used either a Morris Minibus
Morris J2 Minibus. or Land Rover
LWB Land Rover. (long wheelbase version) and sometimes I used my own car. Of the two military vehicles I preferred the Land Rover because the Minibus was a pig to drive. It could carry up to 12 people but had 'forward-control'
J2 Engine compartment. (driver's cab on top of the engine). When the brakes were applied the weight came onto the front making it very difficult to steer (no power steering) and to stop. And with the cab over the engine the cab got very warm in summer.
A group of us spent two weeks a month down there and we did this for some time. We'd go down Monday morning, return Friday afternoon, down again Sunday evening and back Friday afternoon. On the Sunday evenings, we'd stop at the first bar (also now gone) over the Holland-Belgium border to have a beer and play bar billiards
Bar billiards table.. Also on Friday and Sunday evenings we'd stop for frites with mayo
Frites with mayo. or small silverskin onions at the Belgian army garrison town of Leopoldsburg - lots of bars, some with a Watney's
Watney's Red Barrel Sign. Red Barrel sign outside.
This annotated picture found on the internet shows the camp viewed from the north looking toward Britselaan. We were billeted in an empty barrack block (marked 'C' in the center of the picture) and used the services of the base but had no military duties there - a great position to be in. All we had to do was get the work done, stay out of trouble and no-one would bother us. I recall one morning being awoken by the duty sergeant looking for our vehicle driver - on this occasion me. I'd parked the Land Rover on the road outside our block the night before (to the left of the 'C'). During the night someone had driven a private car into camp and they must have been going quite fast. They'd driven around a corner head-on into the Rover front, climbed out and made off. The Rover appeared fine although it had been pushed back. The car was in a right mess. The owner claimed someone had taken it. I had to get the Rover checked over but it's a good thing it wasn't the Minibus standing there as that would have been a write off.
Our task was to install new D11/R230
D11/R230 Radio Sets. radio sets into TAVR vehicles. The vehicles were stored in a large warehouse which can be seen in the 2007 GE image below which has eight arched roof sections. There must have been about 30 soon-to-be radio trucks with generator trailers in there.
The new kits were packed in various size wooden boxes with the tops nailed down. So we had to unpack them, place the various parts in each vehicle and assemble them. I think we worked two per vehicle - there wasn't room for more. I remember each kit also included a Yagi antenna but not being a Radio Tech it meant nothing to me. With checking what boxes we had, sorting into kits, unpacking, placing in a vehicle, deciding what went where, assembling, then testing (I think by Eddie Howells - Radio Tech) and tidying up, each vehicle took some time. When we'd eventually finished there was a warehouse full of radio vehicles with the latest radio sets in. A website with photos and info on these vehicles (Austin K9s) can be seen by clicking here. Another website selling prints of oil paintings commissioned by the Royal Signals about these vehicles and the TAVR can be seen by clicking here.
Click this button to see the latest map of the area above.
During the evenings we'd spend our time doing what squaddies in barracks do - went to the NAAFI and/or bar (pub). The nearest bar was 'Blanca's' (she owned/ran it) at the junction of Britselaan and the Olen road. In the NAAFI we played lots of table tennis, snooker and billiards. Some played cards but I kept clear of the card school because they played for money and some lost a week's pay the day they received it. We used to visit the same three or four bars when we went out in the evening and on occasional 'sports afternoons'. One afternoon we found a place that someone had told us about with a man-made beach and pool that was quite pleasant. It reminded me of the Tivoli pool I used to go to at 16 Sigs. I found it on GM and it has become a theme park and camping site. It's called Bobbejaanland. When we went there it was only the part on the left side of the road that runs top to bottom. We sat on the sandy beach in the upper left of the 'M' shaped pool and drank our beers. It now seems so long ago.
Here's a brief medley of a few records found on jukeboxes at the time.
(If you can't see the player, click here to download the mp3 sample.)
When I wasn't away at 16 BVD, Jean & I enjoyed being together in our own home and living a normal married life - one slight drawback was having a garden to maintain. At the front was a tiny lawn but at the rear it was a decent size garden, about half lawn and half veg/flower plot with a cherry tree. In this photo of Jean in our living room can be seen the cherry tree on the left and the grey frame (for beating carpets on - which we never used) situated where the lawn and veg plot met. Mowing the front lawn was easy but the rear one was a drag. The mower came with the quarter and was a push type cylinder mower - harder to use than the electric power driven mowers of today and tediously boring - but I did it, and a couple of times had help from visiting friends that lived in flats and offered to have a go, like Pete Roberts
Pete, his daughter Lynn and our mower.. To Pete's left in the pop-up photo (hover over his name) can be seen the small gate at the top of the cellar steps and top of the cellar door.
As can be seen in the map below, JHQ Rheindahlen was nearby and every weekend we would go there to do our shopping in the NAAFI Famies Shop in Oakham Way - a pleasant 5 mile, 10 minute run through open countryside. (JHQ Rheindahlen closed in 2013.)
On one of our weekly shops I purchased a Yashica Minister D
Yashica Minister D. 35mm camera with leather case, which in August '65, cost DM191 = £17.40, equivalent in 2013 to £294 or £663. More about the camera can be found here (scroll down to almost half way). Preferring slides instead of photos I used colour transparency (reversal) film - either Kodakchrome or Fujifilm. The first colour film I bought with the camera cost DM18.30 = £1.66, equivalent in 2013 to £28 or £63. Here's the receipt
Camera & Film Receipt. for the two items. Of course with slides you need something with which to view them so I later purchased, again from the NAAFI, a Sawyer 500R
Sawyer 500R Slide Projector. slide projector which cost, in July '66, DM207 = £19, equivalent in 2013 to £308 or £684. It had a plug-in remote control and a 36 slide tray. The tray soon became a bind because loading and unloading each set of 36 slides was very time consuming and sometimes I put the odd slide in upside down or wrong way around. A RotoTray
Sawyer Projector with RotoTray. was needed. These held 100 slides and when full you bought another and thus built-up a collection of them. No more slide swapping, out of order or upside down pics. Over the next few years we added another five RotoTrays. A few years after we'd left the army Jean gave me a Christmas present of a Photax Projection Screen and I bought a small flash unit, an Agfatronic 200B. We still have all of it but when technology moved on it was stored away and no longer used. I digitized the six hundred slides in the RotoTrays a number of years ago. The colour photos on this page were taken with the Yashica.
17 Rear Vehicle Depot, Mönchengladbach, Germany
When not at 16 BVD, some of us commuted daily between 15 ABOD and 17 RVD - where I was billeted in 1963 (see 608 Signal Trp, (1)). Our first job here was un-installing radio equipment from Centurion
Centurion tank tanks, Saracen
Saracen Personnel Carrier personnel carriers and Ferret
Ferret Scout Car scout cars. It was educational to work inside a Centurion tank
Box artwork of model., where it was very cramped and must have been hell to be in when it was firing and/or in hot climates, particularly if all hatches were closed.
17 RVD covered a large area. It had after all once been a Luftwaffe airfield. It was divided by a main road into two main areas - North Park and South Park - with what had been the main runway (now called Am Borussiapark) crossing the road between north and south. The bulk of North Park or Nordpark is now part of Borussia Park Stadium. This area was behind my old billet and where we worked on the tanks and armoured vehicles. South Park had lots of bushes and undergrowth with areas of hard standing where various vehicles were stored. One area was like a railway siding with radio trucks loaded onto flat bed wagons. These were our next stripping job. We came across some Stalwart
Stalwart truck. amphibious trucks here which were interesting to check out but not strip. Whatever vehicle target we had to strip each day we would work hard to get the bulk done before lunch-time, leaving the balance to do at a leisurely pace after lunch. I recall a couple of bars we used to visit to refresh ourselves. Then it was back to Viersen, into my car and home to Waldniel.
On the main road to the left of 17 RVD's main gate was an AKC Globe cinema. Jean & I went to see "West Side Story" there in, I think, 1966. 17 RVD main gate was at the junction of, what is now, Heinz-Nixdorf-Strasse and Gladbacher Strasse.
Click this button to see latest map of the area. Zoom using + - in bottom right.
In Feb. '66 we exchanged our Renault R8
Our Renault R8 (1964). for a Renault R10
Our Renault R10 (1965).. The R10 cost £494, equivalent in 2013 to £8,345 or £18,830. We really liked our Renaults with very comfortable seats - though without headrests or seatbelts then (it wasn't until 1983 that UK law required seatbelts to be worn). Both were rear engine cars with the luggage compartment at the front under a front hinged bonnet. The spare wheel (normal not spacesaver) was slung on a frame under the luggage compartment.
One day in early '66 at 15 ABOD I happened to meet again the German civilian female clerk I'd first met there in 1963. She now worked in HQ (see 15ABOD plan above). Her name was Kate and I learned that her husband Don (a Brit from Jersey) worked in RSSD. The four of us became good friends and had some good times together. One such time was when we took a 340 miles day trip to Traben Trabach in the Mosel valley. Click here to see the GM route in a window.
17 Base Vehicle Depot, Recklinghausen, Germany
Another place we worked at was 17 BVD up in Recklinghausen. For a short time we spent two days a month there, travelling there each day. We normally used military vehicles but on at least one occasion FoS Paul took us in his new Renault 16
Renault 16. He'd not had the car long and it needed to be run in. His married quarter was less than half a mile from 15 ABOD so the more longer journeys he could make the better or it would take an age to run in. Here he is in this photo driving us back down the autobahn. It was one of the first cars with a hatchback body style, in fact, before the term "hatchback" was coined. I'd wanted one myself but couldn't stretch to the (I think it was) £700 price tag, which in 2013 was equivalent to £11,830 or £26,680.
It was just over an hour's drive from Viersen to Recklinghausen, a distance of about 60 miles, as can be seen on this map. Recklinghausen is in the Ruhr region - a powerhouse of coal and steel industries. To avoid the heavily built up industrial cities of Duisberg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, etc., we used the autobahn - which was for about half the journey.
In a warehouse there were about 40 Champs
Austin Champ with radio set. with radio sets mounted in the rear. Our task was to run the sets and make sure they were working. I don't recall exactly which sets they were but probably Larkspur
Larkspur C-13 Mk.II Radio Set. sets. There is information about Larkspur here and a great deal of information and pictures of Larkspur and many other British military radios and vehicles can be found here.
We set up a couple of 'drive-in' workpoints where two radio techs would stand and the rest of us would drive the Champs into these then drive them away after testing. It involved a lot of jumping in and out of Champs and short distance driving and parking. The forward/reverse lever in Champs and the short distance meant we only used one gear and could go forwards and backwards with ease and speed. This was, unfortunately, yet another location and task for which my Tele. Tech. training and experience wasn't needed. Not since 16 Sigs. had I used my specialist technical skills or had the opportunity to maintain or extend them. I think this was the case for all of us at 608 and 614 previously. This situation was to improve with the next task I was assigned to on my own.


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George Darley was an Irishman, who spent most of his career based in his adoptive home of London, writing poetry, verse drama and criticism for literary periodicals. He is generally regarded as a late Romantic writer, but traces of early Victorian style may equally be read in his highly polished versification and tendency to sentimental morality. Darley's original publications include The Errors of Ecstasie (1822) and Sylvia (1827). He became an influential and rather aggressive critic of the contemporary state of English poetry and drama, astutely identifying some key deficiencies in others' practice, but – as certain modern critics have noted – apparently unable to resolve them in his own writing. He worked …
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Bradshaw, Michael. "George Darley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 April 2004
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1133, accessed 28 September 2016.]

subset: commoncrawl


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Microsoft will release three critical patches in May
There are four patches for May in total. The three critical patches are for the Office and Windows platforms.
This Article Covers
Patches, alerts and critical updates
Windows systems managers only need to worry about applying four patches this month.
Three critical updates will address potential remote code execution in Windows 2000 Service Pack 4,
There are also critical patches for Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2 and SP3, Office System 2007 and Office System 2007 SP1.
One moderate patch will be issued for Microsoft's security service tools, such as Microsoft Antigen, Windows Defender and Microsoft Forefront Security.
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Microsoft will issue the patches on May 13.
Dig Deeper on Patches, alerts and critical updates
Find more PRO+ content and other member only offers, here.


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Get your whole school involved!
Hang up our Red Paw Print Border Banner to announce your next big school event. Banner includes your choice or wording and paw prints of your color choice.
Create a custom banner for your business, organization, or party! We offer both indoor and outdoor banners in a variety of sizes, so you can get exactly what you need. And as always, personalization is free!
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I ordered this for our school PTO group. It had to be durable and a good value. We will be using this banner for years to come. The quality is outstanding and the value is unbeatable! It rolls up nicely so we can store it well, too. I have been telling folks where I got this since everyone is impressed with the quality! Thanks for such a great product. [...]
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Sent on the 13th of November, 2013
Frequently Asked Questions:
This is a list of typical questions we have received on our contact page.
Q. What is this web page?
A. This is the food page of SOUTHLAND LEISURE CENTRE on 2000 Southland DR SW Calgary.
Q. How does it work?
A. Restaurant staff logs in to edit this page or respond to visitors' reviews. Visitors do not have to log in to write reviews. Optionally they can personalize their food pages, however the default visitor profile is anonymous.
Q. You have a visitor counter. Do you track your web page visitors?
No personally identifiable information about you is stored at foodpages. Unless you have logged in and set your user name, your reviews will be signed by an anonymous nickname 3349th. This word links your visitor number to the time of your visit.
As of today, 3349 visitors have visited this page. You are the 3349th.
Q. How long has southland-leisure-centre.foodpages.ca been around?
For quite some time. It got its first review on December 30, 2011 and was last updated on May 12, 2016.
Q. Does SOUTHLAND LEISURE CENTRE pay a fee to be listed here?
A. No. This service is free, and it will always be.
Q. How do you ensure that this information is correct?
Visitors suggest corrections, and SOUTHLAND LEISURE CENTRE representatives who have the option of claiming this page.
Q. How do you rank Restaurants?
We rank Restaurants by first grouping them together by proximity, then analyzing their ratings, reviews and comments. SOUTHLAND LEISURE CENTRE is currently ranked number 2 of 21 nearby Restaurants in Pump Hill Calgary.
Q. What if someone submits an "abusive" review?
A. We moderate all reviews. Only constructive criticism or various amounts of praise are allowed.
If we've missed something, let us know.
If you have another question send it here.
Frieda's Pizza No 2460 Juniper St, Quesnel, BC
Medicine Hat Wholesale Foods702 Industrial Avenue SE, Medicine Hat, AB
Dorinku10205 82 AVE NW, Edmonton, AB
Karaikudi Chettinad South Indian Restaurant1225 Kennedy Road, TORONTO, ON
Awards: People's Choice Winner, 2016


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Welcome to Glock Talk
Why should YOU join our Glock forum?
- Converse with other Glock Enthusiasts
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If you consider yourself a beginner or an avid shooter, the Glock Talk community is your place to discuss self defense, concealed carry, reloading, target shooting, and all things Glock.
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Discussion in 'Band of Glockers' started by quick, Apr 5, 2008.
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Top Definition
an underground military installation/ missile silo, located just west of rancho penasquitos, san diego, california, which is disguised as a high school, actually titled as a "learning community". This can be proven through several examples, including large air conditioners on top of buildings, and the "off limits" pool building, also the elevator that goes down under the ground. Plus, the school is shaped like an enourmous satellite dish.
"Learning Community: It either sounds like we are dumb, or poor....or both."
"Westview is out to get us"
"Westview is out to get us"
by Anonomyous Guy April 01, 2003
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
The richest school in the Poway Unified School District. Located 20 miles north of Dowtown, San Diego. Funded by Governor Davis as a secret operation headquarters. Contains nuclear and atomic bombs in order to gain revenge to all californians that recalled Davis.
Don't go to Westview. You'll get nuked.
by Ragupati Raam March 31, 2004
The attempt or carried out act of destruction for the purpose of spite or impending doom. Destroying something or doing something out of spite.
I will west view the crap out of this bar if they make me leave.
by Ferris5150 December 12, 2011
high school with amazing amout of influence from filipinos, veitnamese, and chinese people. so from all that influence, we have sophomores taking calc bc, half the school reads manga, and we have a split of the student body, even though they say they don't have cliques. we have two cliques: cool, and not cool. Teachers don't usually care about how students do, except for some algebra 3/4 teachers and a honors humanities teacher. they have this term system, so classes that would be a year long in a regular school are a semester or term long at westview.
Westview students are super smart.
by Sonali Kumar May 31, 2008
westview...really the poorest school in PUSD...there in so much dept that its not even funny anymore...ther school looks nice...but...they're so poor that MC students would get free stuff while Westview students have to pay 8 dollars for
Mc students: i cant believe we got the planers for free!!
Wv student: aww shit..i had to pay 8 bux for mine =(
Wv student: aww shit..i had to pay 8 bux for mine =(
by ben January 30, 2005
A "learning center"(wat the fuck haha) that is part of PUSD that shouldnt be, whos students are douches. They also get their asses handed to them everytime the dual MC.
" Last time MC dualed Westview the final score was 56-12 MC
by MC's biggest fan June 24, 2006


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Category Archives: Author Visit
Meet Best-selling author Sarah Dessen!
Bestselling young adult author Sarah Dessen will discuss her works and career during a free program on Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 p.m. at the Glendale Branch, 6101 N. Keystone Avenue.
Dessen is the author of twelve novels, including Someone Like You, Just Listen, The Moon and More, and her latest, Saint Anything. Many of her works have been among the American Library Association's "Best Fiction for Young Adults" selections, including her first novel in 1996, That Summer. Her 2009 book, Along for the Ride, earned a spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list. The 2003 film, How to Deal starring Mandy Moore, was based on both Someone Like You and That Summer. In 1999, Someone Like You was one of two winners of the School Library Best Book award, and the following year her book, Keeping the Moon, was the sole winner.
Dessen was born in 1970 in Evanston, Illinois, and graduated with highest honors in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She resides in North Carolina with her husband and daughter.
Book sales provided by Kids Ink and autographing will follow her presentation.
Call 275-4410 for more information about this free program.
6101 N. Keystone Ave.
Book sales and autographing to follow the presentation.
Brought to you by:
KIDS INK & the Library.
Free and open to the public.
Rainbow Rowell and Malinda Lo visiting Indy the same week!
As part of our celebration of Banned Books Week, and to kick off the Library's Teen Read Week activities, author Rainbow Rowell will appear at Central Library on Tuesday, September 23rd. The author will discuss her works at 6:30 p.m., followed by a book signing at 7:30 p.m.
And the next day, Malinda Lo makes two appearances!
Continuing our celebration of Teen Read Week, we will welcome author Malinda Lo, who will speak and sign books at two different locations on Wednesday, September 24th.
You can see her at the Glendale Library from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Or you can see her at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (340 N. Senate Ave.), where she will speak and sign books from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
If you show up at 5:00 at the Vonnegut Library, the Gourmet Girls will be creating some "banned books treats."
Julie Young to be at Irvington!
Author Visit: Patricia McCormick
Sunday, January 30th Central Library 2:00 p.m.
Have you ever wondered how does an author pick a topic, how does an author come up with enough information to keep readers engaged for several chapters, or better yet how to give the piece of work a title. Here is your chance to ask an author the above questions and get your own personal questions answer, buy and get your books signed by the author, and best of all meet the author.
Patricia McCormick is coming to visit Central Library for an Author Talk. She has written 3 Teen books titled Cut, Purple Heart, and Sold and a JFIC book titled My Brothers Keeper. The topics these books address are issues teens deal with today. The topics are similar to self-mutilation, human trafficking, Iraq War, dysfunctional families, and drug abuse.
Patricia McCormick will speak for the first part, have a Q & A Session, then end with book purchasing and book signing with the help of Kids Inc.
Patricia McCormick also has a new work in progress entitled Song of the Killing Fields.
Patricia McCormick books @ IMCPL
Cut TEEN FIC MCC
My Brother's Keeper jFIC MCC
Purple Heart TEEN FIC MCC
Sold TEEN FIC MCC


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Any tradition that has lasted 114 years must evolve to survive. And so, the annual Mummers Parade has been put through Darwinian paces. Routes have been tweaked. Hours curtailed. Rules imposed. Crowds have expanded and contracted. Drag queens, who strutted until the 1970s, returned to the frilled fold in 2013 - and oh, dem golden kinky boots.
But the 2014 rendition, which rolled and strutted, boogied and high-stepped, clowned and twirled up South Broad Street on Wednesday in a well-hydrated flurry of confetti, sequins, feathers, and face paint, was 100 percent consistent with its century-old roots in the most essential Philadelphia ways.


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Blog Archives
CardinalSportsZone Podcast 4/6/15: State of Wisconsin Appreciation Day & Mike Gandolfo from the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic
If you didn't or couldn't listen to the CardinalSportsZone podcast live today, it's available here! We show appreciation for the STATE of Wisconsin, nothing else. We also talk to the guy who puts together the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic, Mike Gandolfo as he gives us the details on this weekends festivities. We talk about the Baseball Cards and the football scrimmage from Saturday. We have a podcast tab where all episodes will be kept. You can also favorite CardinalSportsZone.com/podcast in your browser. The CardinalSportsZone podcast is available on iTunes! Click on the badge below to subscribe today! Call in to the show on Monday's and Friday's at our regular time of noon at (914) 338-0180.
As always we hope you enjoy todays episode of the CardinalSportsZone Podcast:
If you want to listen to the CardinalSportsZone podcast do the following:
ESPN Ranks Nations Top Basketball/Football Tandems
ESPN released a list of their top Basketball/Football tandems in college sports. Being an all-around athletics program is something we take a lot of pride in at the University of Louisville. Basketball team are coming off of a National Championship a few years ago and the football team coming off of multiple bowl victories. I think we are ranked a few spots too low but am happy overall with the perception just a few days into the Petrino era. Louisville was ranked the 5th best program for the 2 sports. Check out the full list below!
Go Cards!


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Written by Linc Bedrosian
February 22, 2013
BP's general counsel said this week that he's confident that the company will escape the harshest level of civil penalties for the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not surprising that he would argue against the notion that the oil giant was grossly negligent for the spill, which poured 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. The company hopes to keep its liability from being quadrupled under the Clean Water Act, which is what a finding of gross negligence would trigger. The difference is huge: $4.5 billion for simple negligence or more than $17 billion for gross negligence.
With the civil trial before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier set to begin Monday, it is important to remember what led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the company's spotty track record on safety. None of BP's PR efforts can change that.
The federal government's most conclusive report on the Deepwater Horizon explosion -- which left 11 men dead -- found that BP's failure to assess the risks of its Macondo well and the company's drive to cut corners at the expense of safety were the main causes.
Significantly, the Joint Investigation Team of the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the Coast Guard was the only non-criminal probe of the disaster with subpoena power. That allowed investigators to question, under oath, a large number of witnesses -- many in public hearings conducted in Kenner -- and to have access to extensive records from the companies involved.
Members of the joint investigative team clearly believed that BP personnel sacrificed safety in order to save time and money at the company's Macondo well. The group's September 2011 report noted that at the time of the blowout, the project to drill Macondo was behind schedule and $58 million over budget. The document included a chart keying on seven critical decisions in the design of the well and the drilling process -- all made by BP managers.
Read the full story at the Times-Picayune>>
SeaWeb and Diversified Communications are accepting proposals to present at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit up until Friday, September 30.Read more ...
Governor Bill Walker has officially requested that the federal government declare a disaster for four Alaska regions hurt by one of the poorest pink salmon returns in decades.Read more ...