Trevor STUBBERFIELD's Photo Album 2

My R.E.M.E. Days.

1 (BR) Corps Troops W/S R.E.M.E. Kunsebeck, B.A.O.R. (March 1955 to March 1956)

1 (BR) Corps.

Christmas 1955. On the left, Cpl Gaymer-Derham, (50B)

Trevor relaxing, Christmas 1955

Well at least Lofty Delves knew how to celebrate.

Trevor and Lofty Delves in a more sober moment.

George Peacock 52A and Lofty Delves.

Dave Horse Holding 52A resting in the hills above Bielefeld.

Victorious 1(BR) Corps Troops W/S R.E.M.E. football team.

The ‘Courier’ was the ‘In House’ magazine which was printed whilst we were on exercises. It first appeared on ‘Exercise Spearhead 1’ in August 1952, before my time, but this edition was printed for ‘Commonwealth IV’ in 1955. The workshop was set up in the grounds of a school in the village of Rahden. Looking through the copy some names are brought to mind which someone may recognise. S/Sgt Bill Winwood, CSM Modgett, SQMS Crossley, AQMS Cummings, Maj. Smeatham, Capt. Solent, CQMS Brassey, S/Sgt Lucas, S/Sgt Joyce, Sgt John Sexton, WO1 Mitchell.

Prof ?, Mick Richards (NS), Trevor Stubberfield and George Peacock of 52A. on BSAs and Matchless. Whilst on exercise we took delivery of four Triumph Twin motor cycles, part of a GHQ Trials program. We were instructed to put lots of miles on them, say no more. It was one way of seeing a great area of Germany at no expense, with a lot of fun. At one point we even managed to chalk large crosses on some concealed armour which we came across, belonging to the ‘Fantasia’ army, our enemy of the day.

A little bit of friendly fraternisation with some local children from the school we were based in.

His name escapes me but he did find out that you can’t stop a running Jeep engine fan by sticking a finger in it.

Practising on Herford ranges for the B.A.O.R. Rifle Championships which eventually got us a trip back to the U.K. to take part in the contest at Bisley ranges in 1955. We each had an Armourer/Spotter assigned. For some strange reason, on this range we couldn’t hit a barn door at thirty paces and the sight settings rendered the rifles useless on any other rifle range.

Bielefeld town centre.

Two postcards of the ‘Jahnplatz’, town centre of ‘Bielefeld a Teutobueger Wald’.

War Memorial in Bielefeld town.

My insignia.

Pictured below are the two boards recording the Officers Commanding 1(BR) Corps Troops Workshop REME which are on display at the REME Museum in Arborfield. I remember Major T R Smeatham, but I’m sure he wouldn’t remember me.

The next two photographs, Courtesy of ‘Google Earth’, show the buildings that housed 1(BR) Corps Troops Workshop REME and 3 Armoured Workshop REME at Kunsebeck, as they are today. Currently owned by Timken who manufacture bearings on the site.

The layout is still recognisable from the 1950s with Kunsebeck railway station being the brown building to the top left.

The photo below is from March 2007 and was published in a souvenir copy of the Haller Kreisblatt (125 years, 1882 – 2007) which can be read as a pdf. file from HERE.

Below is a photo of the vintage locomotive 24 009 at the level crossing over Durkopstrasse. The single track line, right next to the factory, ran between Bielefeld and Osnabruck with a steam engine. Between Bielefeld and Bad Rothenfelde the service was provided by a lightweight, maroon and silver, two coach diesel railcar unit with a driver at each end coordinating their gear changes for each car.

Photo by H. Gontek

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L.A.D. R.E.M.E. 10th Arm’d Div. Royal Signals Regiment, Gialo Barracks, Tripoli. (May 1956-57)

10th Armoured Division (1955-57)

The two pictures below show freak "desert" conditions in Gialo Barracks. When it rained inland, in the mountains, the water made its way across the desert and out to the coast through the wadis, which were like dried up river beds.  Local instructions were that if you saw any signs of water in a wadi then you didn't cross it.  Within a matter of minutes you could be faced with a raging wall of water travelling at great speed.  Some people didn't heed the "old wives tale" and on quite a few occasions we searched for missing vehicles and persons and had to recover what was left of them.  The pictures are of a freak flash flood when the wadi couldn't take the amount of water coming down from the mountains.

L.A.D. R.E.M.E. 38 Coy.R.A.S.C. Medenine Barracks, (1957- May 59)

Tripolitania District.

The two photographs below were taken at 38 Company RASC Tripoli. The self-propelled gun and the two half-tracks were used in the film ”Ice Cold in Alex”.  They were on "the other side" hence the German markings.

Desert weather oddity. The half-tracks are standing in water which was the result of a sudden torrential downpour, totally unexpected, that the ground couldn't absorb.  Not sunshine all the time.

Many photos and a much fuller memoir of my time in Libya 1956 – 1959 can be read from HERE

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L.A.D. R.E.M.E. Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars, Hohne, B.A.O.R. (July 1959 – June 1960).

7th Armoured Division.

It may be ancient but it did the job.

Tanks for the memory, photos taken on exercise in Beringen.

My personal transport was somewhat smaller in the form of an Opel ‘Olympia’ Car-A-Van which finished up back in the UK where it performed well for quite a few years. As portrayed here, the BFG Registration was IM 28 B which was re-registered as 96 AYU when it came to the UK.

Celle Town.

Post Cards sent to the ‘folks back home’ in 1959.

Neue Strasse, Celle.

Minden.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial.

Bad Hartzburg.

Schwebebahn.

The trip was memorable for the sight of a local ‘oompah’ band, in the opposite car, playing at full blast with instruments poking out of the windows and doors. Breathtaking!!!!

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C.O.D. Bicester (1960-61) C.O.D. Chilwell (1961-63) No photos and best forgotten.

First Published: 27th September 2005.

Layout Revised and Content Updated: 15th February 2011.

Latest Update: 1st June 2013.

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