Regierungsbezirk (Government District) Köln

Requisitioned civilian accommodation

HQ Guards Division 1945-1946 (1)
1st Household Cavalry Regiment RAC 1945 (2)
2nd Household Cavalry Regiment RAC 1945-1946 (3)
HQ 5th Guards Brigade 1945-1946 (4)
1st Battalion Grenadier Guards 1945-1946 (5)
2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards 1945-1946 (6)
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards 1945-1946 (7)
2nd Battalion Irish Guards 1945-1946 (8)
HQ 6th Guards Brigade 1945-1946 (9)
4th Battalion Grenadier Guards 1945-1946 (10)
3rd Battalion Scots Guards 1945-1946 (11)
HQ 32nd Guards Brigade 1945-1946 (12)
5th Battalion Coldstream Guards 1945 (13)
2nd Battalion Scots Guards 1945-1946 (14)
3rd Battalion Irish Guards 1945-1946 (15)
2nd Battalion Welsh Guards 1945-1946 (16)
1 (Independent) Company 4th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine Gun) 1945-1946 (17)
52nd Reconnaissance Regiment RAC 1945 (18)
3rd Reconnaissance Regiment (8th Northumberland Fusiliers) RAC 1945 (19)
HQRE Guards Division and 148 Field Park Company RE with 11 Bridging Platoon RE 1945-1946 (20)
HQ Guards Divisional Signals 1945-1946 (21)

(1) arrived from Bruchausen-Vilsen south-west of Verden 17 Jun 45 – Hohenzollernplatz Bad Godesberg south-west Bonn – moved to Plön 5 Apr 46 – Rear HQ/Commander’s residence – Röttgen House Bonn to 3 Dec 45
(2) arrived from Goslar 13 Jul 45 – Brühl south of Köln – returns 23 Jul 45
(3) arrived from Visselhövede south-east of Rotenburg 17 Jun 45 – Comesstraße Brühl south of Köln – redesignated Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) Armoured Car Regiment RAC 25 Sep 45 – Moltkestraße Gummersbach north-east of Köln 23 Feb 46 – moved to Menden north-east of Iserlohn 30 Apr 46
(4) arrived from Bruchausen-Vilsen south-west of Verden 17 Jun 45 – Bad Godesberg-Pillersdorf south-east of Bonn – relieved by 4th Belgium Infantry Brigade 7 Mar 46 – Flugplatz (Airfield) Kiel-Holtenau 10 Mar 46
(5) arrived from Martfeld south-east of Syke 16 Jun 45 – Kurfürstenstraße Bonn – Meine north of Braunschweig 22 Jun 45 – British Troops Berlin returns 3 Aug 45 – Reuterstraße Bonn – Knopp north of Kiel 15 Feb 46
(6) arrived from Twistringen south-west of Syke 16 Jun 45 – Siegburg north-east of Bonn – Birlinghoven east of Bonn 25 Jun 45 – moved to Lübeck 5 Feb 46
(7) arrived from Bartelsdorf north-east of Rotenburg 16 Jun 45 – Ludwigstraße Bad Godesberg – Elisabethstraße Bad Godesberg 7 Jul 45 – moved to Neumünster 15 Mar 46
(8) arrived from Riede north of Syke 16 Jun 45 – Moltkestraße Gummersbach north-east of Köln – moved to Hamburg 23 Feb 46
(9) arrived from Plön 20 Jun 45 – Euskirchen south of Köln – relieved by 3rd and 4th Belgium Infantry Brigade 2 Apr 46 – moved to Hamburg 5 Apr 46
(10) arrived from Salzau east of Kiel 17 Jun 45 – Mechernich south-west of Euskirchen – Codford Barracks 3 Dec 45 – moved to Ratzeburg south of Lübeck 16 Mar 46
(11) arrived from Ascheberg west of Plön 17 Jun 45 – Billiger Wald south-west of Euskirchen – Berrendorf-Wüllenrath west of Köln 25 Jun 45 – Gymnich south-west of Köln 16 Jul 45 – Goethestraße Lövenich west of Köln 1 Nov 45 – disbanded 7 Mar 46
(12) arrived from Bartelsdorf north-east of Rotenburg – Park Straße Alt-Frankenforst east of Köln 17 Jun 45 – relieved by 5th Belgium Infantry Brigade 15 Mar 46 – moved to Lübeck 17 Mar 46
(13) arrived from Westervesede north-east of Rotenburg 17 Jun 45 – Goethestraße Weiden west of Köln 8 Oct 45 – disbanded 31 Oct 45
(14) arrived from Seedorf north-west of Rotenburg 18 Jun 45 – Am Markt Wipperfürth north-east of Köln – moved to Hamburg 20 Mar 46 – Left Flank – Bielefeld 24 Jun 45 – Berlin-Spandau 29 Jun 45 – Potsdam-Babelsberg 3 Jul 45 returns 3 Aug 45
(15) arrived from Westertimke north-west of Rotenburg 18 Jun 45 – Hauptstraße Hoffnungsthal east of Leverkusen – UK and disbanded 6 Feb 46
(16) arrived from Scheeßel north-east of Rotenburg 18 Jun 45 – Hauptstraße Bergisch Gladbach east of Köln – Bensberg east of Köln 20 Oct 45 – moved to Lübeck 11 Mar 46
(17) arrived from Süderwalsede south of Rotenburg 18 Jun 45 – Neuer Trassweg Refrath west of Bensberg – disbanded 8 Apr 46
(18) arrived from Belgium 16 Jul 45 – Kölner Straße Bensberg east of Köln – moved to – Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf 3 Sep 45
(19) arrived from Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf 3 Sep 45 – Kölner Straße 4, Bensberg east of Köln – moved to Menden north-east of Iserlohn 20 Oct 45
(20) arrived from Stedebergen south of Verden 12 Jun 45 – Hauptstraße Bad Honnef south-east of Bonn – moved to Eckernförde south-east of Schleswig 7 Apr 46
(21) arrived from Bruchausen-Vilsen south-west of Verden 17 Jun 45 – Mainzer Straße Mehlem south-east of Bad Godesberg – moved to Plön 6 Apr 45

Codford Barracks formerly Kommerner Straße Kaserne Euskirchen

Home to:
4th Battalion Grenadier Guards (10)
BHQ arrived 3 Dec 45 – 1 + 3 Company arrived 8 Nov 45 – all companies by 3 Dec 45

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

Köln 1945 – devastated after the aerial bombing carried out by the British and Americans. Prominently, the Cathedral of St Peter und Maria stands amongst the ruins.

Volkspark School – 1964. I was there (Köln) in the 1960s as a child and we had some 3000 quarters there so there must have been significant presence; I believe a lot of the occupants, as well as working for the RAF, worked for the Army in Bonn. I do remember a lot of messes in the town. In the background and to the right of the picture is the old Astra cinema.

Courtesy of Len Moscrop