Fort Henry, Soest West Germany 1965-68 by George Pambrun

I was posted to 4CIBG HQ and Signal Sqn, Fort Henry, West Germany in May 1965 and this is a recollection of some experiences and accounts that happened during my tour. It pertains to more than just another posting but a life style change. Life as it was and how we were able to overcome boredom and hardships. How sports was not only an enjoyment and pastime for soldiers but also in some cases entertainment for colleagues and dependents.

I have included some of the names of the soldiers that I remembered, those I missed I apologize.

How the Signal Sqn was able to bring radio play by play into the barracks and homes of dependents.  I had been posted to Shilo Man, 2 SSM BTY and on posting to Germany, my wife of one month was sent on an SPR to her fathers farm in Sask. I then proceeded to Trenton, Ontario and departed for the city of Dusseldorf, W/Germany and after a 11 hour flight, on a Yukon, we were put on buses and transported to Fort St Louis at Werle. The Signals personnel were picked up by Staff Sgt Hayes and brought to Ft Henry. There we were billeted in Barracks about 20 personnel to a room ,bed spaces, separated only by lockers. The next few days we cleared in and were assigned to a troop Rear or Main and as the Sqn was on exercise in Sennelager we were given a few days to secure Quarters off base for our spouses. I can only surmise what happened after my wife was sent on an SPR, the SSM Bty went on excersise and followed by leave, postings and new personnel, the Sqn in Germany was also going through the same phases and somewhere along the line, she was dropped through the cracks and was lost in the system. I had mentioned we were only married a month before posting instructions so after a month and no communications from the military about her departure and I being sent to Sennelager shortly after arrival in Germany, one has to understand that mail was slow and the phone system was unreliable from Europe, Well her family was beginning to have doubts about my integrity. So they started with Camp Dundurn and had no joy so they then tried Moose Jaw which was an Air Base. After some time, they did get through to Shilo . Now on top of this confusion you have a frantic wife, mother and father-in-law in doubt and new personnel trying to figure out what to do, Well they eventually got it figured out after about two months and she received her travel orders. Those were the days that the Army thought if you needed a wife they would have issued you with one. I know its an old cliche but anyone that was around at that time will understand.

After my initial intro into this strange land of handles for door knobs and a quick briefing by CPL Paul Cook and Jim Lefebvre on culture and language, and that peeing against a wall in a Gasthof was ok (that's another story). This followed by an initiation to Germany through the Green Shack. (local Gasthof). This was my first posting to the Brigade Group, 4CIBG HQ and Signal Squadron. The CO was Major Elliote and the SSM was George MacMillan. The Brigade was divided into three distinct areas where different units were situated Soest, Werle and Iserlohne and all with dependents living in different little villages on the economy. Transportation and language was a major barrier for most families that lived in rural communities. Each area had centrally located schools for dependent children and Military food stores to purchase food and other items of necessity. The hospital was BMH located in Iserlohne. There had to be about 10,000 people with the soldiers and their families.

There were a lot of people with limited entertainment outside of the Base messes, the Red Patch club and the Sally Ann in Soest, the other areas all had the same sort of resources. TV was virtually nonexistent and if it was, it would be in German. Limited phone system facilities and undependable, mail was slow. Radio was German, US, British. CAE was our local Canadian Radio Broadcast station at Werle and it serviced all areas. So, much of our entertainment was through local sports between the Major and Minor units. Hockey, at the time was a big thing in Canada and Sat nite was hockey nite in Canada almost every village, town, city had a hockey team and they filled the arenas. Well, the same was happening in the Canadian military bases in Europe and they had a large fan base, made up of Servicemen, family members and Germans. The Air Force had a league in Southern Germany and France and the Army had a league in Northern Germany, Each Major unit had a team, I am not sure when, it started but there were ice hockey arenas in the three areas i previously mentioned. Ft Chambly had a hockey team that played in the Major units league, made up of minor units personnel from Fts. Henry and Chambly, Werle and Iserlohne had similar teams. Signal personnel were well represented and if a Sigs player ended up anywhere other than Ft Henry and he was a good player you could bet your puttees it would be rectified the following year. Hockey was taken seriously and the Huskies were known as the Brigade Commanders team, unofficially of course. For the next three years names like Frank Peters, Paul Murphy, John Murray, George Indian Pambrun and Tinker Branscombe played for the Ft Chambly Huskies. During this period the Huskies won the League championship, twice and the playoffs once and the Saurerland cup trophy. Ft Henry had a hockey team in the minor league made up primarily of 4 Signal Squadron personnel, with players like Les Adams, Danny Dumas, Jean Vezina,Tim Fields, Earle Shields, John Clements, Ikey Bonnefont, Gerry Coady, Billy Ford and goal tenders "Make them shoot from the red line" Doggie Clyke and Pepe Lemieux. We also had a super Ball Team, with players such as Ike Bonnefant, Tim Fields, Jim Nelson, Magistate, Billy Ford, Jim Laird, Fred Crow, Smiley Furness and George Pambrun and we also competed in Volley Ball and Basketball, One year under the directorship of Dick Wilbur and Dave Russell we won three championships, Hockey, Softball and Volleyball. The year of the Centennial 1967 was when the Canadian marching teams first participated as a contingent in the famous 4 Day Nijmegen Marches, where we had our own billets and kitchen. Names such as Joie Durrell, Zip A'hearn, Les Adams, Bob Molyneaux, George Pambrun, Jim Lefebvre, Pete Fox and Lt Terriault. We marched (not walked) the whole way thanks to Sgts Adams and Molyneaux, I said at that time I would never do this again.

I had mentioned that entertainment was limited and that few people had transportation. I would like to mention how the ingenuity and effort of personnel of 4 Signal Sqn were able to bring play by play hockey games to the fans that could not attend, by employing existing military equipment. Radio Relay was a relatively new system in the army and capable of handling large volumes of message traffic, it was a Brit System but not user friendly in many ways. By this I mean it required a technician to operate the radios and the mast and antenna were made of heavy metal and used a spar system and winch to erect. It required at least 5 or 6 personnel a couple of hours or more, depending on conditions, to put up the apparatus. Someone in their infinite wisdom came up with the idea to broadcast hockey games, play by play, into the local area, something that had never been done before. I remember Cpl Burt Haines being in charge of one of the stations. They would have one detachment near the arena where the game was being played and the other detachment at CAE where it was hooked into the system for rebroadcast by Tech Sgt Mitchell. The system worked well.   Paul Cook was a self taught play by play commentator and Russ Barnaby was a colour commentator. They had a Hot Stove portion and conducted interviews to help promote interest.There were many Sigs personnel who were behind the scenes and I can't remember their names but it does this old soldiers heart good to remember some of them. All members of the Sqn played a part in the planning, logistics and operation of the system,witch brought joy and entertainment to the local area listeners.

I want to end this with a funny story as I had previously mentioned my wife never got over for 2 months and that was true of many other couples. And I mentioned this because it plays a part in this story. We, the Fort Chambly Huskies used to travel to Holland, Belgium and France, and played against local hockey teams, Well, this one time we were in Holland playing in Amsterdam and it was one time we brought our spouses and girl friends. After the game we had dinner and a few drinks and someone decided that we should take the women down to see the sites on Canal Street. So, off we went with great anticipation and the wives and girlfriends holding tightly on to their spouses. They were apprehensive and were not sure how the girls on the street may react. Many of our team were single and experienced and they told our spouses, not to stare but be polite and act natural (what the hell does that mean)? No one wants to be embarrassed I suspect. We got onto the street and there, were the girls of the nite, all makes shapes and nationalities (a young mans dream, yeah right), in doorways and in the windows, classy and well dressed. One of the street girls very well groomed and pretty, hollers out of the blue and too our shock and dismay" Tinker baby, where have you been, I missed you and how are you doing? Come to Momma." and she grabs him. There was dead silence and a million thoughts are racing through minds You could have heard a pin drop and I still have memory of Judy"s strangling grip on my upper arm. We are all aghast, mouths open ( remember what I said about separation anxiety, well its kicks in) This could be any one? Nancy, Tinkers wife, has a death grip on him, jaw drops in utter astonishment and disbelief, followed by a poignant pause. (Tinker was our goal tender a Sgt and a bit older than most of us). After what seemed to be an eternity, this girl starts to laugh and says "Gotcha". one of your friends had set you up, Tommy Thompson, a single rat, with a mischievous attitude, fesses up . After a period of time blood pressure starts to return to normal. Adrenaline is still running high and we all start to laugh. I will never forget that moment and that girl, she was so polite and apologetic with Nancy. What a night to remember.
 One has to understand and appreciate the time frame. Germany was still recovering from the war, we had just been through the Cuban Missile crisis and we are sitting in Northern Germany part of the BAOR in the middle of what appeared to be, nowhere. Few people had cars, most Germans did not. We as soldiers had little pay, so we had to make the best of it and we did. We were there as an integral part of the Defence Force but we also had to exist as communities, of which we did and sports played a major role. 4 Signal Sqn and personnel played a great part in helping and providing that entertainment We also have to salute our spouses for enduring the hardships and the support they gave us.

This was only some of my memories of of that period and Fort Henry which no longer exists. The last time I was there the camp was being torn down and it was to become a housing development.. The Green Shack is no longer a shack but a very upstanding Gasthof… but the friendly ghosts of those soldiers and experiences that helped it get there will always be there to haunt it.