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LUBECK

LUBECK 1948-1949.

We moved out from Fassberg on 19th August 1948. Instead of Wunsdorf’s 2 weeks and Fassberg’s just under a month, I was to stay at Lubeck until April 1949.

The large ring on the map shows the R.A.F.Station and to the right is the Blankensee (Lake) at the back of the Officers mess.

We were sent to our billet out at St. Hubertus, we had to go and come by truck, when we walked in to the billet for the first time, the smell that hit us was vile, we said we couldn’t sleep here and were told it was the garlic drying in the basement and it would do us

good, so we stuck it out and it did get less noticeable as the days went by.

Top left Station Sick Quarters R.A.F. St. Hubertus Lubeck.

Top right the tennis courts. Underneath, Willy on his bed St Hubertus, wonder if it still smells of the garlic ?

Eventually they had got our billet revamped for us on the camp so we soon moved in, bliss.

The billets, with bags of room between them.

The park as you come in to Lubeck town.

Dakota's on the Flight's Lubeck.

I puchased a Trombone down in Lubeck and used to go down into the basement to

play it, as there were big steel doors I could close I did not think I would be heard but

after a few weeks I came back to the billet, after being on flight lines duty, all day to

find it in 6 inch pieces, there endeth my playing days, anyone wan't to own up? I asked

Bill Campbell the web master of the B.B.A.A. if he would put it on their web site and he did, nobody said they had done it though.

Someone started a model aircraft club, so I joined, where we got the aircraft from I can’t remember, I built a delta wing and used a jetex engine to power it, we had fun on our

time off.

Now for more photos.

Brumie in bed, anyone know him? Me and ???

Were we that bad at

playing the harmonica?

The two harmonica players in Hamburg.

Me and Bert, Hamburg

N.A.A.F.I.

Some more of Bill's photos.

Holsten Tor, Lubeck. Kaiser Wilhelm Statue, Lubeck.

St Mary's Church with bomb damage, Lubeck.

The Alster, Hamburg. Harbour and House Kogge, Lubeck

More bomb damage, at Braunstrasse, Lubeck.

Top left, Willey, Bill and Brooksbank the Alster, Hamburg.

Top right, Willey, Brooksbank and Taylor, outside the Central Court of Justice, Hamburg.

Next three left to right, Willey, Bill and Taylor, at the Alster Hamburg.

Taylor, Bill and Brooksbank, by one of the statues in the square outside the Central

Court of Justice, and Willey, Bill an Taylor on one of the pleasure boats on the Aster,

in Hamburg.

Thanks once again to ex Cpl. William S (Bill) Evison, for bringing back some memories,

of when we were in Lubeck at the same time.

Someone said why are there no signs of Dakota's in my pictures, so I will now rectify that, with a few more

Dac KN 434 on the perimeter track.

No idea whose aircraft this was.

Dakota KN424, Lubeck October 1948.

Yours truly,

This one definitely running up Dakota affter doing inspection on it.

Here I am in one of No 80 Squadrons Spitfire's, how or why I managed to get in it I

haven't a clue, they were the only operational unit to use this mark. I thought this

was one I was running up for the CO as stand in FME, but it was Fassberg not Lubeck,

so have no photo of it, must be my memory failing, still it was only 58 years ago.

Anyone know any body??

Batman practicing with a stationary Dak, could it be me ??.

This Dak was in Lubeck but cannot remember the lads.

It was only by luck I thought, that I didn’t die on the way from Lubeck to the British

Military Hospital in Hamburg. I had been diagnosed with an acute appendicitis and the MO. Said I should be taken in a V.W. as the heavy suspension on the ambulance would

not get me to the hospital safely. This I found out after the operation, the Doctor said to

me Mr Hienz (no I haven’t spelt it wrong, that’s how he spoke my name) if it hadn’t been

for our wonderful V.W. you would have died on the way here, so it was realy thanks to

the MO.

Anyway that was just before Christmas 1948 so I was allowed a bit of time to recuperate but what did I do, I went ice skating on the lake at the back of the Officers Mess, I always took my ice hockey skates with me just in case I had the chance to go skating. Well this day I went to the landing stage and lowered myself on the ice then started to skate to the other side, just over half way I heard this screeching noise, I looked round and found the ice was breaking behind me, so I put more speed on and got to within 2 meters of the edge when the ice broke and I went under but luckily the water only came up to my elbows so I waded the rest of the way, shivering like mad. The moral is, do not go skating after an operation. this shows the size of the lake, pity I could not get the photos to line up.

That was a good start to my Christmas.

As usual on Christmas day the Officers gave us our dinner and a good time was had

by all. Bill Evison has just sent me the following.

He sent his home, I can't think where mine went. Thanks Bill for this surpprise.

That night in the NAAFI, some of the British stars came and entertained us.

In the new year four of us decided to go for a horse ride, they were hiring them out just across the road from the camp, I had the white one( whenever I go riding I manage to

get a white horse, maybe it’s because they are smaller and I don’t have so far to fall) anyway we set off at a canter and were enjoying the cold air passing by our faces, when there was a noise of a machine gun and the sound of bullets hitting the trees around us,

so we headed back for camp like bats out of hell, it had been the East German Border Guards, someone had fired at us thinking we were deer, not much difference, so we

found out later.

As I said I am on the white horse and next to me is Bert, could it be E.J.Wilmshurst?

The photo to the right of the 'cowboy's' is me in the NAAFI Tent on the flight lines.

I should have been demobbed in January but was asked to stay on for another three months, so I said yes I would.

Had I done the right thing signing on ???

So on the whole I had enjoyed my time in the R.A.F. made a lot of friends

So here we are on our way home for demob, over the Hook of Holland, nice trip but we were told that customs were going through everyones kit, the panic that caused. The number of items that were thrown out of the aircraft over the North sea was fantastic, I won't say what I dumped.

Above two photos of Oakington. We came back here from Germany for leave,

the photo of me above, was just killing time for my demob.

The guard room as it was a few years ago when my mate Doug, who was on the Berlin airlift was back at Lubeck, he took this photo and two more below.

This is opposite the camp, as it is a few years ago, we found the horse hire firm down this lane.

This is the airfield, taken at the same time by Doug.

The following photos I took when the Wife and I were

visiting Berlin, Lubeck, Celle and Hamburg in 1986.

Above, view of the Holsten Tor.

Above, the Holsten Tor from the top of St Peters church.

And St Peters Church taken from the Holsten Tor, do get around don't we.

The best place to get marzipan, the shop on the right sells all shapes and sizes of

Marzipan items, as some below.

On the left of the photo is the Town Hall and the cellar (wine and beer drinking)

We manage to get some locally, in Devon, for Christmas and other times, for presents.

The Lubeck Railway station, we arived here from Hamburg and started our journey here down to Celle and down the Rhine to Stuttgart.

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Ater the Airlift had finished a Memorial was erected outside Tempelhof airfield in Berlin, and then other German airfields had theirs and the German Post struck a Memorial stamp.

There is a memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum,at Alrewas, Staffordshire.

The Memorial at Tempelhof. And a commemorative stamp.

A map of the airfields used.

Above is the Memorial at Alrewas, with the names of those who died, as stated below. Seventy British, Commonwealth and American airmen, together with eight

German civilians were killed during the Airlift.

The thirty-nine Royal Air Force, British civilians and Commonwealth Airmen who died

are commemorated by a plinth and with the thirty-nine trees planted behind it, at

Alrewas, Staffordshire.The above Memorials were paid for by funds raised by the

British Berlin Airlift Association.

THE BRITISH BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATION.

MEMBERSHIP.

The requirement for membership is simply to have been engaged

either directly or indirectly on the Berlin Airlift.

The annual membership fee is £15

Please send an Email or letter to:

Janet Howard

Greenfields , 80 Park Street,

Kings Cliffe, Peterborough.

PE8 6XN, Great Britian.

E-mail:- janet@pchoward.com

ENQUIRIES.

To contact the BBAA, please provide the details listed below by E-mail to:-

geoffsmith@supanet.com

Contact name E-mail address

Telephone number Postal address

Fax number Enquiry details

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Just published, 2007, the following book,

by Bob Clarke.

It is a must, for anyone,

who was engaged on the Airlift.

Details of where to purchase it are below

Go to:- www.amazon.co.uk.

Click on books, in search, then type in Berlin Airlift,

scroll down until you find the book.

Amazon price £12.59 plus free delivery

The following photos, the cartoon, and the comments,

have been taken from the author's book,

with his written permission.

The new Deutschmark was introduced into Berlin on

23 June 1948. The 'B' stamp, was to combat profiteering

and movement of the notes out of the city.

The Douglas Dakota was the mainstay of the early

Royal Air Force effort. Nearly a hundred were brought

out of storage to supplement the lift.

British Prime Minister Clement Attlee described his visit

to Gatow as, 'one of the wonders of the world'

Flight Lieutenant 'Frosty' Winterbottom kept the

British end up with offerings such as this.

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I joined the BBAA in June 1995, I have not been able to attend any of the AGM’s but have made a trip to Berlin in 1998 for the 50th celebrations,1948-1998, and the comradeship was fantastic, and the German people came forward to shake our hands, as we marched under the Brandenberg gate, it was well worth the effort to get to Berlin. Here are some photos from that trip.

We were all invited to a reception at the British Embassy on the 3oth September 1998, invite below.

Museum of the Berlin Airlift, Clayallee, Berlin, with a Handley-Page Hastings, it was

lifted into position by a gigatic crane. We were taken here by the Gratitude Foundation, then we were taken to other places during our stay. We arrived on the 30th September

and left Berlin on the 4th October 1998.

This is where we had our lunch, very nice. Menu below.

Barbara, my Wife, was checking over the fruit and veg.

We were then put on a coach for Gatow airbase but it broke down some way from here and we had to wait for a bus to continue our journey, just like being at home!!

As you can see by the number coming off the bus, there were a lot of us.

These are the tags we were given to wear, as you can see us wearing them in the above photos.

The start of our tour of the Gatow Museum.

Taken in the Museum showing the 3 different markings of the Dakota.

Waiting in the warmth of the coach prior to marching at the head of the parade for unification. As we were marching, the rain and then snow came, most of us in blazers and no macks or coats.

The Brandenburg Gate Berlin, taken by one of our Grandsons, on a better day.

Luch on our last day at the horse trotting course.

More for lunch.

ON TO OLD LUBECK