May, 1966 – photo taken outside the main entrance and Duty Room, York Bks, Münster, BFPO 17, Germany.
Several Unit members are missing from this photo due to leave, courses etc. Ranks shown are as at 1966. (D) denotes that this member has sadly died during the intervening years.
FRONT ROW: (L to R): Cpl Alex Lambie, Sgt Jimmy Daniel (D), WO2 Brian Gater (D), Capt NC Allen, Ssgt Fred Bennett, Sgt Dick Rowe (D), Cpl ‘Chic’ Harding (D).
2ND ROW (L to R): Lcpl Barry Mountford, Lcpl Phil Croft, Lcpl Mike Bliss, Cpl Dave Naris, Lcpl Glyn Guymer (D), Cpl Ron Brocklesby, Cpl Terry Regent (D), Lcpl Ken Lacey (D), Cpl Joe Taylor.
3RD ROW (L to R): Lcpl Graham Phillips, Lcpl Bob Rose (D), Lcpl John Wilkinson, Lcpl John Westland (D), Lcpl Allan Edgar, Lcpl Bill Dyce, Cpl Barry Arnold, Lcpl Alan Barkess, Lcpl Keith Hay, Cpl Bob Allen.
4TH ROW (L to R): Lcpl Barry Crossley, Lcpl Robbie Thomson, Lcpl Jack Kane, Cpl Bob Greaves, Lcpl Dave Fretwell (D), Lcpl Mick Mobbs (D), Lcpl John Williams.
REAR ROW (L to R): Lcpl Alan Mews, Lcpl Bill Turner, Lcpl ‘Taff’ Adams ACC att, Lcpl Barry Drew ACC att.
6th Infantry Brigade Group relocated from Wuppertal, Germany to Münster, Germany (BFPO 17) during 1958/59. At that time National Service was in operation and most of the Lcpls in the Unit were National Servicemen whilst Cpls and above were ‘Regulars.’ This form of conscription ended in 1963 and all Unit personnel thereafter were Regular soldiers. York Barracks was the home of the Unit until 1968 when, on the orders of Harold Wilson’s Labour government, the Brigade was withdrawn to UK. 4 Gds Bde Pro Unit RMP moved from Iserlohn to take over police duties, based in York Bks. Streatlam Camp, Barnard Castle, County Durham became home for 6 Inf Bde Pro Unit but the Unit returned with Brigade elements each year to Germany for Exercises to fulfil NATO/BAOR commitments. During Oct/Nov 1970 the Unit was once again on the move, re-deployed to Soest/Werl, Germany as 6 Armd Bde, part of 4 Div, and subsequently re-designated as 115 Pro Coy RMP.
6th Inf Bde Pro Unit RMP was a very efficient Provost Unit, part of 2 Div in BAOR and manned by a mix of youthful exuberance in the junior ranks and dedicated, older experience from the senior ranks and successive OCs. The Corporal’s Mess was the centre of the universe for ‘living-in’ NCOs, a vibrant atmosphere of 60s music pounding from the juke box ensuring a busy dance floor during Mess events, with regular guests from BMH Münster, the German Civil Police and other local friends of the Unit. The move to Barnard Castle meant ‘living-in’ personnel occupying sub-standard accommodation, building internally within a billet a new Mess and making friends in the locality. Duties and tasks of the Unit in UK were often quite a change from the operational and Military Police duties of BAOR in which the Unit had excelled.
As a garrison town, Muenster was home to 15,000 troops and families at it’s peak with a number of barracks housing infantry regiments, tank/armoured car regiments and many support units: York Bks, Waterloo and Buller in Loddenheide, Lincoln (MSOs) and Nelson in Grever Strasse, Oxford in the Roxel area, Winterbourne in Coerde then Portsmouth and the BMH. These barracks are now mainly converted into industrial or residential sites as most of the British Forces have been withdrawn and re-deployed. The BMH became a civilian mental health institution for a while. In Barnard Castle, Streatlam Camp has been completely demolished and returned to pasture! Good reasons therefore to keep memories intact of places and faces we knew.
For those interested in Military history, the origins and 1992 disbandment of 6th Brigade is very well explained and documented in, ‘A Short History of The 6th Brigade 1808 – 1992’ and published in 1993 by Lt Gen Jonathan Riley (Generalship Ltd), and available to read on the internet.
This website has been created to remember those involved with the Unit, to provide memories for old comrades and families, and to provide information for those interested in Royal Military Police history.