Updated 16 July 2024

9 (British) General Hospital arrived from Netherlands – advance party from Bergen-Belsen 16 Jun 45 – Flak Kaserne Hamberg-Rissen – redesignated 9 (Rissen) British Military Hospital 15 Apr 46 – Control Commission Germany 14 Oct 46 – Military patients to 94 (Hamburg) British Military Hospital

94 (British) General Hospital – established off Fuhlsbütter Straße Barmbek-Nord early May 45 – redesignated 94 (Hamburg) British Military Hospital 15 Apr 46 – moved to Lesserstraße Wandsbek 1953 until 1958 – location used as an annex Sep 45 to Mar 46

Handed over to the Bundeswehr

Source: 21st Army Group later British Army of the Rhine to Mar 49

Part II

B.M.H. Hamburg, was located on 180 Lesserstrasse. D-22049. Today it is still a military hospital, but for the German forces. It is now known as “Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Hamburg”.

BMH Hamburg – 1951.

Courtesy of Mr Frank Bishop who was born here in 1951.

The building pictured above was where Field Marshal Erich von Manstein was held, with his own squad of German nurses ‘ Schwesternunterkunf’. During my spell as ‘Stickman’ to the guard, if my geriatric memory serves me right, I had my own room on the right of the balcony floor. I remember sitting out on the balcony with the scent of Wisteria heavy in the air, just before the trek to get dinner for the guard. In those days, one had to be a bit smarter than I am at 78. I doubt it is still done (except by chocolate soldiers ) but the SOLES of my boots were polished for the mounting of a Field Marshall’s guard (even a German one ) had to be a bit slick.

I believe that a number of regiments in the area of Hamburg rotated the guard duty at Hamburg BMH (Scots Greys , 7th Hussars etc ). One presumes this was for a couple of reasons, fair dos, so that duty didn’t go stale, and that the American Hermann Göring suicide was not repeated. We drove to Hamburg BMH from our Lüneberg Barracks to the constant thump of the Matador’s diesel engine, don’t know why, even a three ton artic truck would have been quieter! The Matadors were usually only used for towing radar caravans by 211 Battery, while my battery, 210, used three tonners for Sound Ranging HQ ops while the survey troop tore around in Jeeps. At the time I had been serving with 94th Observation Regiment RA at Lüneburg.

Mr Ron Bramble

BMH Hamburg’s gardens. In the background can be seen a statue of a “Napoleonic era” man carrying water in a couple of buckets of water (presumably for his wounded comrades). I can’t name the chaps in the 1946 pic – all my father wrote on back of photos was “2 BFES (British Families Education Service – see note below) chaps Hamburg 1946”.

Courtesy of Mr Frank Bishop who was born here in 1951.

The British Families Education Service (BFES) was established by the Foreign Office in 1946 to provide schooling for the children of British families stationed in the British Zone of Germany after the Second World War.

The picture above shows the main entrance into the hospital as it it today.

Courtesy of Mr John O’Meara

BMH Hamburg June 1957

Photograph courtesy of Dave McCree