I worked in Staff Message Control (SMC) in the main HQ, just a short hop from the Royal Signals Commcen which passed to us all the teleprinted messages they received. We distributed these to HQ branches and nearby units - 36 and 68 (Car) Coys RASC, HQ Int Corps, HQ Royal Sigs, 101 Provost RMP, Comd Pay Office RAPC, 14 Bn WRAC, HQ RASC, HQ British Services Security Organisation, HQ REME & Workshops, HQ Pioneer Group and others. Naturally there was outgoing signal traffic as well and, because of the Cold War, we had to man the SMC 24 hours a day. I was on permanent night shift which, though long hours, was fine as there were two night shifts and we worked turn about. SMC day shift worked 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, so I came off shift at 8 a.m. and was off duty until 5 p.m. next day and could go anywhere I wanted for 33 hours! Down side was the night shifts worked from 5 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday between us. A month before my 19th birthday I was promoted L/Cpl and took over my night shift but left HQ BAOR after only a year there, on posting to Hong Kong and promotion to full corporal. Poor me, eh?

HQ BAOR and its units and co-located HQ 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF) and units, numbered thousands and thousands, like a village, and locals called Rheindahlen 'Kleine England', a little England away from home. Apart from servicemen and women, there were British and German civil servants and other workers, and wives and children, and voluntary organisations like Red Shield, CVWW and WVS, two large NAAFIs, one for HQ BAOR one for 2 ATAF, and a cinema each, too, the Globe (could smoke) and the Astra (couldn’t). In ’57 £1 Sterling got you 12Deutschmarks (in ’77 £1 got DM5 and in ’95 only DM2.50pf). With all my spare time, free travel on civvy trains (in uniform plus ID Card AFB 2603/4) and loads-a money, I did a lot of travelling, to München Gladbach, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Köln, Aachen, Duisburg and Krefeld, often spending the night away.

I had a great time on this posting, working long hard hours but spending long hours off duty, too, and visiting many interesting places. I had loads of male and female friends not one of whom I ever met again, and even played with the locals at their annual festival, the phantastisch ‘Rosenmontag’ which involves a lot of drinking, a lot of eating, a lot of shouting “Karnival! Karnival!”, a lot of general carousing, and a lot of happy drunks swaying down streets wearing funny hats and big red noses, all of it carried out in the best of good humour. If you’re ever in Düsseldorf and find a restaurant called simply Herr Fischel’s, I can recommend his huge oval platter filled with a colossal sirloin steak, fried eggs, abundant fried onions, salad and a berg (i.e. mountain) of kartoffelgebraten - fried potatoes, but the best ever.

Some names from these happy days are Bob Arnold, Hugh Smith, Tommy Lawton, Taff Davies, Duke Barron, Jim Topp, Taffy Arthur, Johnnie Ray, Les Mottram, Vic Pyner, Reg Grainger, Des Desmond, Jerry Page, James Bond, Sgt Chalky White and Geordie Moffat all RASC, Rita Gaffney WRAC, Monty Tubbs D&D Regt, Ernie ('X' The Unknown) Hext Cheshire Regt. And, damit wir nicht fergesen, the gorgeous sisters working in HQ BAOR NAAFI, Magdaleine and Anneliese.