50 Years Ago

Mike Webber · 50 Years Ago

By chance I found this website. The banner headline "Were you in the I Corps at Langeleben" attracted my attention. I was, from mid 1957 to March 1958. Reading through the various posts brought many of the memories back.

I was on B watch. To my astonishment Ernie Callaghan tells me he was on B watch at the same time, together with Bob Wells and Rusty Rosson. So Gentlemen, although I cannot remember you, we were infact all working together.

I Corps rarely worked directly with Signals, but I do remember what a great bunch of lads B watch were. One thing I do remember is that we sent off a record request to BFN for B watch, and it was played a few days later. We all got a mention on air. I typed out the letter with the list of names the only name I seem to remember was Matt. Was there a Matt ?

I'll be pleased to add my memories to the " Were you in the I Corps at Langeleben" post, and any other I come across.

50 years on it's a bit late to join your association, better late than never.

PS How could you forget Schumanns, I see it mentioned several times. But wasn't there a BIG one and a LITTLE one ?

paul croxson

Welcome, if somewhat belatedly to our humble home.
I was I Corps (as by now everyone knows) on B Watch with Bob too but a year earlier, I don't know what your job was but I worked very closely constantly with the Signals but this was on the morse side rather than voice.
Have you found your way to the History yet?
It will bring back many memories particularly of Maresfield

Mike Webber · 50 Years Ago

Paul,
I've now had a chance to have a look at the History section, but not an absolutely thorough one. Boy have you been busy with that project, facinating reading through some of it. Bearing in mind I had almost completely forgotten about NS until a few days ago, when my wife prompted me to look for my best friend in the I Corps. Alistair was with me at Birgelen 56/57 and we met and kept in contact for about seven years after leaving the Corps.
During the search Google brought your website to my attention. Over the years I've met a couple of people who were at Langeleben, and the name always brought a smile. It was certainly the highlight of my NS.
In the History I couldn't find reference to Maresfield. Perhaps you would be good enough to direct me.
I did my basic training in the Dorsets and was due to go to Cyprus, but at the last minute a PSO offered me the chance to transfer to the I Corps. I wasn't therefore at Maresfield very long. Why I ended up in MI8 rather than FS I can't recall. As we served close together I assume your route to Langeleben was the same as mine, via Beaumanor and Birgelen.
The 'History' has ignited what few brain cells I have left. You may not have recognised my job description, but I think I was doing a similar job to you. When I left in March 58, I can confirm that B and E call signs were still in use, and that we still trying to complete the E Blocks daily. I doubt the I Corps wagon had changed either since your time. There was a very large map of Eastern Germany on the end wall with lots of pins refering (I guess) to 3rd Shock and Guards placements.
You say people were reluctant to talk about the job. In essence, in my case as I remember it was fairly simple. When the frequencies changed, the Signals picked up the Russian OPs by recognition, we used the call signs to break the code for the new frequencies, and off we went again for the next 24 hours or so. I guess that took 40 minutes perhaps ? All the traffic they took during the day was in code, we just bundled it up for shipment back to GCHQ Cheltenham, via Birgelen. So apart from the excitement of the changeover it was very routine. When I was at Birgelen there were at least two civilian personnel from GCHQ getting first glance at all this stuff. I remember while at Birgelen we all had to take an exam. How you did depended on what job you were given, a higher grade and a bit more pay. If you did badly you were sent to the despatch office and spent your days packing up all stuff for GCHQ, it was a great incentive to do well.

I do apologise for rambling on.

Did you know Sgt. Mike Price from Swansea, think he got there 56. He had signed on for the extra year. The only reason was so that he could buy a Mercedes to take back to the UK. Black, left hand drive, we sometimes travelled in style to and from town. If there was any chance of you spewing up you had to walk, or get the truck.

Gordon

Mike

We must have overlapped at Langeleben for a few weeks,as I arrived there early February 1958, just in time to enjoy a North German winter. I try to block Maresfield out of my mind - what a hole! Happily I was only there for a week or two.

Gordon

paul croxson

Good to hear more from you Mike and to see Gordon is alive and kicking.
I never went near Beaumanor. After FS we went on the MI8 course which then was at the Reservoir Barracks, the then home of the Gloucester Regt.
Its funny but there is still this resistance to gtalking about what we did. I reckon that thge mystique arises not from the desire to keep the baddies in the dark but from having to admit the work was mundane and low level.
As you say, the changeover was the onlyreal excitement we had but by your time quite a bit of E type callsigns must have been recovered or had they found the secret of the sequences by your time?
Rather than bore everyone my time at maresfield etcis all in the history.
Don't rush to read it as an updated and much better version is on its weay to the web. I have just bought a 2nd hand copy of Dennis Potter's biography and there are a couple of bits in it about Maresfield. He, however was a LInguist and so never knew the hardships of Corps traing etc there.

Mike Webber · 50 Years Ago

Gordon,
Who could forget the heavy snow in early 58. Like you I was only at Marefield for a short period, the 'Chequers' helped dull the pain.

Paul,
Low level, yes. We would be kidding ourselves if it was anything more.

Gordon

Mike

Episodes of NS experience tend, over fifty years or more, to get detatched from their contexts in time and place, but two memories belong unmistakably to Maresfield. One is of heaving coal bags to married quarters. The other is of a guard duty (or perhaps it was a fire picket), when it fell to me to give a breakfast cook an early morning call. Finding your way around a strange camp is not easy, especially in the dark and on a freezing cold night. Eventually I found the block and the room – at least I hoped I had found it. I pushed the door open and found what at first sight seemed to be a large pile of men, some in beds and some on the floor. The sweet smell of stale sweat, warm bedclothes, old socks and boot polish hit me like a tsunami. How was I to find Pte Bloggs among this lot? I asked myself. Do I shake them all awake in turn and ask “Are you Pte Bloggs?”, and so risk becoming the most hated man in the I Corps (it was 0500hrs after all). Or do I shout “Anybody here called Bloggs?” and beat a quick retreat. I quickly realized that the second course was not on, as I had to get a signature. Offering up a quick prayer to the God of National Servicemen I gently shook the nearest man to me. “Worrahelldyawant?” he said. “Sign here” I said. My prayer must have been heard, since he signed. Better still, he signed so illegibly, as one does having been woken abruptly at 0500hrs, that there was no possiblity of a paper trail leading back to me. If there is an I Corps (or ACC) man out there still harbouring a grudge: Please, please, I’m sorry!

Gordon

Gordon

Mike

... and I quite agree about Chequers: "Like a pool of water in the desert and the shadow of a rock in a weary land". Had my first glass of Merrydown there.

Gordon

paul croxson

I called in to the Chequers some time ago and our 'haven' is now an extremely upmarket hotel diner.
Nothing in it to mark the years of sanctuary offered to I Corps members. I think that there should be a green plaque installed.

Mike Webber · 50 Years Ago

Gordon
Please stop it ! I haven't taken my pills yet. Laughing

marleneandgypo

What a great 'story' Gordon, love it! Deserving of a special place in history methinks. Kind of like the 'out takes' on a DVD. I could picture that so well.

Tom Neal

Where was the 'Chequers' ?
Tom

paul croxson

Tom,
I am tempted to claim that your security clearance does not cover such important subjects but with the passage of time it doesn't seem to be that important!
The Chequers was at the Tee junction on the road from ASHDOWN Forest to Uckfield. This and 1/2 dozen cottages marked what was Maresfield really as apart from the Married Quarters there was little else other than the notorious depot, the worst army camp in the UK.
It was a delightful pub which, despite prices, was infinitely preferable to the NAAFI (sorry Marlene). It was a sort of neutral zone where the Depot staff and the squaddies (I. Corps) all drank.
It was famed for selling the original Merrydown draught cider in 1/3rd pint glasses. The barstaff knew everyone and a newcomer was strictly rationed to a maximum of 3 glasses and that was quite sufficient. When you were allowed mto move on it was a great honour. You were "in"

paul croxson

Before I forget - have you I Corps chaps had a look at the photo that I poosted of the depot staff yet? I wonder how many of the 1953 lot were still there in 1957/8. A lot were there still in 1954/5. They are remarkably be-ribboned and a lot must have seen quite a bit of war and Korea service, thinking about it. I think Tom but it in the odds and ends section.

marleneandgypo

No offence taken Paul. Like brewery pubs here where they must buy the brewery beer, I don't know about today, but in my day we didn't have much choice. Most popular was Carlsberg which was quite expensive at 65 pfg and Amstel 55 pfg which my grandad quite liked when he came to visit. A lot of the lad used to come in to me in the evening for a glass of milk to line their stomach then go down to Lelm on a week day coming back to the NAAFI for last orders.

Me, I had my crate of babysham on regular order and occasionally had a tot of brandy in there as well.

Clive and I used to love Merrydown years ago too.

Tom Neal

Thank you for that Paul.
The reason I asked was that we spent our honeymoon at 'The Chequers' hotel in Pulburough, Sussex in 1964.
Tom