Updated 20 October 2024

Landkreis Warendorf was the responsibility of the following higher formations:
3rd Infantry Division 28 May 45
52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 9 Aug 45
4th Armoured Brigade 15 May 46
7th Armoured Division 15 Jul 46
2nd Infantry Division 17 Feb 48

Requisitioned civilian accommodation
Lehrerseminar (Teacher Training College) Freckenhorster Straße 43, Warendorf

HQ 3rd Infantry Division 1945 (1)
HQ 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 1945-1946 (4)
HQ 4th Armoured Brigade 1946 (8)
HQ 22nd Armoured Brigade 1946 (9)
HQ 7th Armoured Brigade 1947-1948 (9)

Requisitioned civilian accommodation

3rd (8th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Reconnaissance Regiment RAC 1945 (2)
124th (Highland) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA (3)
404 Battery – 411 Battery – 412 Battery
52nd Reconnaissance Regiment RAC 1945-1946 (5)
1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry RAC 1946 (6)
2nd Lothians and Border Horse RAC 1946 (7)

(1) arrived from Lüstringen east of Osnabrück 13 Jun 45 – moved to Belgium 17 Aug 45 relieved by 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division
(2) arrived from Schledehausen east of Osnabrück 30 May 45 – Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf – moved to Bensberg east of Köln 3 Sep 45
(3) arrived from Hagen-Hohenlimburg west of Iserlohn 20 Jun 45 – Kapellenstraße Telgte north-west of Warendorf – moved to Lüdenscheid south-west of Iserlohn 18 Apr 46 – one battery moved 6 Apr 46
(4) arrived from Belgium 17 Aug 45 – moved to Bad Zwischenahn north-east of Oldenburg 15 May 46 relieved by 4th Armoured Brigade
(5) arrived from Bensberg east of Köln 3 Sep 45 – Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf – disbanded 30 Apr 46
(6) arrived from Hankensbüttel north of Gifhorn 5 Apr 46 – Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf – merged with 2nd Lothians and Border Horse RAC
(7) arrived from Austria 5 Apr 46 – Freckenhorst south-west of Warendorf – merged with 1st Lothian and Border Yeomanry forming Lothians and Border Horse RAC – disbanded 15 Jul 46
(8) arrived from Oelde south-west of Gütersloh 15 May 46 – moved to Bomlitz north of Fallingbostel 15 Jul 46 relieved by 22nd Armoured Brigade
(9) arrived from Kellinghusen east of Itzehoe 15 Jul 46 – redesignated 7th Armoured Brigade 31 Dec 46 – moved to Bad Lippspringe 15 Sep 48

Batteries/Squadrons were at various locations

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

Part II

4 Petroleum Depot RAOC

My posting to Warendorf was my first post abroad and I didn’t know what to expect. I arrived in Luton bound for Germany in civvies but with the familiar army suitcase with my army no scrawled all over it, as we did in the early Seventies.

On arrival at the airport near Münster I had no idea where to go or how to get to 4PD and the reception forgot to tell me that I was to get on the bus to Portsmouth Barracks. Instead I bumbled aimlessly outside of the airport terminal, which was now in darkness and I started to walk in the direction of Warendorf from a sign I had seen, but as it was late and I was tired from travelling all day I managed to hail a taxi and explain to him that I wanted the “British Petrol Station!” (God how I wished that I listed to my German teacher at school – I’ll never need to speak Germany will I!) Gratefully the taxi driver managed to get me to my destination after much questioning, of course he spoke no English and I arrived at the depot around midnight having dispensed with DM25 for the fare – all I had left for the month. Needless to say I frightened the duty NCO to death as he wasn’t expecting me (“You were suppose to go to Portsmouth Barracks”) he moaned and then had to make umpteen phone calls to let them know that I had found my way to the depot on my own and he kindly forfeited his bed for the night. They seemed impressed that this young PTE had found the depot as it was in the middle of nowhere but were not happy that they had waited up for me at Portsmouth Barracks!

Anyway, at the end of the next day I rode back with the two lads that I would be billeted with in the army Land Rover they used daily. When we arrived ,the LCpl, Smudge Smith, asked me to park the car up while they went into the cookhouse to order our evening meals. I’d only driven a Land Rover once before and as it was parked facing into the cookhouse and needed reversing, I duly put the gear stick into reverse only for the stick to come away in my hand! Needless to say when I skulked back to the cookhouse and showed the LCpl the gear stick, his face was a picture! I’m not sure if he wanted to cry or laugh, so I didn’t wait to find out! Welcome to Germany!!!

My initial employment was at 4 Pet Depot as a Pte Staff Clerk in the admin offices in 1977. My Chief Clerk was a SSgt Pollington who was very laid back, folk-singing, hippie who had an answer to any problems – a great Chief Clerk. There was also a Cpl Staff Clerk, a Scot called Jim Kelly, plus the lovely German civilian clerk, Kath, who was actually Scottish too! We had an Admin OC (Maj) and 2IC (Capt) – can’t remember their names at present. The RSM was WO1 McCabe who was presented with the Queen’s Jubilee medal and other Pet Ops whom I shared accommodation with at Portsmouth Barracks (Smudger Smith was one and Pete Carlton another). It was a mixed depot with military and civilians and also was next door to a very large German Fire Service and petrol depot.

My job was to collect the mail daily from Münster and go on endless “admin trips” taking personnel or parcels all over the place and occasionally act as the OC’s driver as part of my duties. I was there around 10 months before I was promoted and posted to Hannover. It was a good unit, we all got on well and I remember the RSM kept taking us all out (clerks and Pet Ops) for long boring road runs to keep us fit. However, when we did our BFTs we all passed each with the top ‘A’ grading!

I also have the unenviable honour of having successive entries in the OC’s incident book of being charged (missing PE), promoted, and then posted all within a few days of each other. I have fond memories of walking around the depot one early morning as I was on duty with a new fall of snow, it was unexpected as we hadn’t seen snow for such a long time and it was deep and the magical atmosphere within the Depot on that day was amazing. I had a very enjoyable time there except when I dropped the RSM off at the Sgts Mess as I went to take my “tick-test” to drive in Germany, only to fail and he then had to take ME back to camp – needless to say he wasn’t too impressed with me!

Nick Redgwell