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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: deejayEn on Saturday 21 January 17 22:32 GMT (UK)
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My father's cousin recently told me that her dad was responsible for running a club for British soldiers in post war Berlin. He was posted there from the end of the war until at least March 1946. He was a private in the Royal Artillery but his job working in hotels before the war gave him the experience to run the club. He also booked musicians and acts to perform there on a regular basis, these acts were mainly German.
She had two photographs of the interior, see below. Sadly there is no writing on the back save for the photographer's stamp which says - Foto. Werkstatt, W.Hoven. Credfeld DAH LER DYK 182.
The third photo of the soldiers in uniform may be from the same location but I'm not sure.
I can identify a poster on the wall of the club in the background of one of the photos which says, Athletics. This indicates that it is a club connected to the British and the Army rather than a German club. I did wonder if it was connected to the NAAFI but the photos I found of the NAAFI club in Berlin looked different to this.
I would love to know where the club was and if it is still there. Can anyone identify it or does anyone have any idea which clubs British soldiers used in Berlin in late 1945/early 1946? Any information will be gratefully received.
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Good evening,
The British army took over 3 barracks plus the olympic complex. These were given the names Montgomery, Brookes, wavell and Smuts barracks. The first three were infantry and supporting arms and Smuts was next door to Spandau prison where Rudolph Hess was incarcerated. That was for the armoured unit, I did two short spells there in the 70s.
There was also BMH Berlin, (military hospital), a TocH club and a Red Shield club (Salvation Army). There may have been others that I don't know about.
I will see what I can find on any of them.
John915
Added, there was also the RAF bases of course.
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Back again,
A little research shows me that there were several more barracks in Berlin than I knew of. Stadium barracks alone had 14 bars including officers and sgts messes plus a NAAFI .
I can find no interior photo's of them yet.
John915
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I can't help with an answer to your question, only suggest the following website, it is a mine of information, it has a forum, you could try posting your photos there.
baor-locations.org
Jebber
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Thank you both for your help. It's much appreciated.
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Far away from Berlin:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krefeld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krefeld)
streetname: Dahlerdyk #182
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Good morning,
I'm not quite sure where you are going with this Rudolph. What does Krefeld have to do with WW2 servicemens clubs in Berlin?
John915
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Good morning,
"the photographer's stamp which says" -
Foto. Werkstatt, W.Hoven. Krefeld Dahlerdyk 182
Rudolf
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There was also Edinburgh House, a hotel/club for servicemen (and women?) on Theodor
[code][/code] Heuss Platz next to a major NAAFI in the centre of what was then West Berlin. It had separate bars for Officers and Other Ranks and was a popular meeting point for British servicemen in the city.
We used to stay there when travelling across from Warsaw in then Communist Poland, where we were based back in the 1980s.
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Good morning,
Got you now Rudolph, so do you think the pictures are in Krefeld or was he a traveling photographer?
Kevin, Edinburgh house only came in to use in 1962.
John915
PS, BAOR-locations.org
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Thanks John915. I thought Edinburgh House had a longer history. It was always a pleasure to stay there with our Military colleagues.
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The information is that two paper copies had been made in Krefeld (British Zone),
Hoven is not a traveling photographer, he has made the paper copies.
The negative film might be exposed in Berlin -
or at an other town ...
Rudolf
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Thank you to all of you, I will have to do some more research. From the photographer's address I suppose it's possible that my cousin was wrong and the club wasn't in Berlin but was in Krefeld, where I have been told the British Army arrived before Berlin.