9th-12th-Lancers - Year 1986 - Page 0085
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1986 |
| Transcription |
through the brick wall at the back of the hanger, and, among much satis- 'ng reading of bricks mortar and timber, were attached to the non star- ;ters and towed them out backwards. ‘The space to take them out forward was too narrow and the fire by that .time was white hot, About the same time a number of German We engines arrived with much modern equipment. but to little avail. All of Detmold were washing or bathing and each of the ten hoses produced a ’trickle that would have disgraced a :mouse caught short! So the “feurchef” (Ind I took off at a gallop towards the winning pool (officially known as the “‘reserve water supply in case of fire”) Alas the poor man ran out of puff before we had gone fifty metres. He was not exactly fit and collapsed in the 'eookhouse. Luckily his deputy was more active and the supply was con- nected, but it was quite some time be» lore the fire was got under control. Late that afternoon a transporter had arrived to take one of my tanks to have a new engine fitted in REME workshops As, at that time, there was r minor political flap on, every tank was loaded with ammunition. It was in the hangar that had caught fire and unfortunately I had told my SQMS to leave the ammunition on the floor “As it will be quite safe until morning when the ammunitition dump will be open”! So there were some 70 rounds of I7 pounder lying on the floor of the burn- ing building. Many of the cases exploded ll'ld bits of brass case were found many hundred yards away from the hanger in the morning. Two of the high explosive shells detonated. These pyrotechnics caused a rapid reduction in the number of spectators. and gave me a much bet- ter view, as a two inch hole appeared u eye level in the door behind which I lures sheltering from the heat, It was Ihus pretty exciting for a while and we were lucky not to have had anyone hut. THE VTH/lZTH ROYAL LANCERS REGIMENTAL JOURNAL By 9 pm. the fire was damped down and each tank was full of water, for we had put out the fires in them by sticking a hose in the turret and when the water appeared at the driver's hatch we went on to the hunt On counting the surviviors we discovered we were one tank short, We found the driver stand- ing by his tank three miles down the road towards the local training area. When asked why he was there he replied ”Well you told me to take the f. thing out of the f ...... way. so I f, .. well did.“ There was really no answer to thisl We got back to the Mess tired, wet, dirty and thirsty. l was told that the chief military detective of BAOR wan- ted to see me. I said "Have a drink?." He replied ”I must warn you that any thing you say will be taken down and may be used in evidence etc". I said "My first words will he — get me a whisky and soda please and ask two officers to escort this bastard from the barracks.” He rapidly became more co~operative, and after a while began to believe that 1 had not personally lit the fire. The next day my popularity reached an all time high. Every officer who had lost anything during the past year either telephoned, or came to see me. The theme went — “0h John. you do rc- member I put a typewriter — battery — dozen pairs of overalls —— a pair of binoculars — or something — on that technical stores lorry don’t you?“ I remembered much, but not all for the lorry would have burst at the seams. and no self-respecting court of enquiry could have stomached it! The Army Fire Service was quite convinced that the fire was caused by a soldier smoking. but they were wrong for the very thorough investigation by the German Police found otherwise. A very small and very painstaking forensic scientist from Hamburg spent several days ferreting around the debris and proved absolutely that the fire was caused by arson. The copper pipe from the petrol tank to the petrol pump of each lorry was in two pieces joined by a brass union. On two of the six lorries this union was missing: on the other four the union was melted, so intense had been the heat. The two had been unscrewed and petrol had been syph- oued from the petrol tanks onto the floor. it had also been poured down the turrets of three of the tanks. The adju- tant discovered that our head German groom had tried to bribe the timekeeper to book him out of the barracks an hour earlier than he had actually left, All the evidence against him was circumstantial which is not admissible under German law, so he was never prosecuted. He committed suicide some weeks later, so perhaps justice was more than done. The bill came to £225.164.16,8d or [125166.66 in decimal money. This was sent to me with a polite request that I pay. Alas I could not, but by the time the Court of Enquiry had absolved the Regiment from all blame — and after a lot of cunning work by Edward Donnley the Quartermaster, the Army was saris» fied by my paying for — l “Broom’s Bass" and 1 “Pumps Stirrup“ — which articles were unfortunately omitted from the list of equipment that had been burnt. I could afford that for the cost was 58p, Thank God for Quartermasters! JWR |
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