How A Tuesday Talk Reminds Me Of My Childhood

Today should have been our monthly Tuesday talk at the Museum. Our regular lectures have developed, over the last few years, into a varied programme of talks offering a variety of subjects to interested audiences. From the Battle of Waterloo to the Warsaw Uprising, the work of the Commonwealth War Graves to sewing on the frontline - all of our speakers have provided a fantastic range of interesting topics for people to get their teeth into.

This month's speaker, Dr Peter Johnston, was going to talk about the British Forces in Germany charting the British Army's complex relationship with Germany since the end of the Second World War.  For 75 years more than a million service personnel have served in Germany, though the Army's reasons for being there have changed throughout this period. (National Army Museum website) All the more interesting as many of our veterans have done a tour of Germany as part of their military service, from guarding Hess at Spandau, to Berlin or Minden. 

But this was more than just a military experience as many families also spent time out in Germany, with an infrastructure put in place to support spouses and children.  My dad, with us family, was stationed in Germany in the early 1970s. I have fond recollections of our time there, a real eclectic mix of memories: our quarter, my school, bratwurst, family trips to other areas of Germany and neighbouring Holland, St Nicholas arriving by helicopter, starting Brownies (I have been involved in Guiding ever since), having my tonsils out at BMH Munster, trips to the cinema and owning a pet hamster. Today's photo is of my identity card with a photograph taken just before my seventh birthday (I obviously haven't changed much!) which I found on a recent trip to my mother's house.

For many, a posting to Germany was part of service life with many families sharing that experience. I returned to Germany on my own, age 13, to stay with my closest friend, another military 'brat', whose father was serving in Herford. Having been stationed in Germany just six years before, my parents had no qualms about sending me there alone as they knew once I was met at the airport that the Army 'family' would look after me and that everything would be fine. 

I had not really thought about this part of my childhood until I contacted the speaker. The National Army Museum will be hosting an exhibition dedicated to the  British Army in Germany (at somepoint) this year. I will make sure that I get to London to see it. Meanwhile, I have joined an aptly named facebook group 'British Forces in Germany' and I am enjoying all the comments from folk that have lived all over the country between 1945 and 2020.  

This year sees the end of any major deployment in Germany, although there will remain a small UK military force, a shadow of the former British Armed Forces presence in the country. Sadly we are not able to hear Peter's talk on this subject but hope that we will be able to broadcast it on-line or reschedule it for another date. I, for one, look forward to hearing it.