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158 Brigade Workshop REME 1945 – 1947
5 Infantry Workshop REME 1947 – 1957

A small industrial town in the Ruhr between Dortmund and Hagen. In the immediate post war period 158 Brigade Workshop REME were based there. In January 1947 the unit was retitled 5 Infantry Workshop REME as part of the world wide restructuring of the British Army from war to peace establishments.Unit moved to nearby Dortmund in 1957.

Peter Watson

From 1952 till 1954 I worked in the workshops doing my N/S as a mechanic with REME. I was working on Centurion tanks and the workshops was divided into 3 lanes;
(A) Vehicles
(B) Vehicles
(C)Vehicles.

A Lane repaired tanks, half-tracks,and armoured vehicles; B Lane repaired heavy road vehicles (Diamond T, Scammel 6×6, Mighty-Antar) and tank transporter trailers; C Lane repaired staff cars, ambulances, jeeps and anything small. In this lane the Germans worked with REME Mechanics and I would like to say they were nice people to work with.

I was on guard duty one night inside the camp and I walked inside a big concrete tunnel for about 1 hundred yards long and it frightened me so I turned around and ran back to the opening. I told the guard officer in the morning what I had done and he told my if I had kept walking I would have landed up in Dortmund. So in war time that camp had escape route to Dortmund. If you drive from that camp to Dortmund it will take you 40 minutes, so you can imagine how long the tunnel was. In my working life as a motor mechanic, the REME workshops was the best work place I have ever worked in, and that was 56 years ago.

Regard Mr Leigh aka Wally