RETURN TO BREMEN

I was interested to read of Stan Lock’s adventures in Bremen when doing his National Service and subsequently when involved with M.B.B.

During 1981 I also spent some time in Bremen when together with Andy Madden and myself from Filton and several other staff from DeHavilland’s; we were in support of the B.A.C. team from Chester, completing the build of the first set of wings for the A310.

Stan in his article mentioned the book “From the Snows of Norway to the Sands of Normandy” in which reference was made by the author to the author’s time in Bremen while the war was still on.

Intrigued to know what Bremen was like in 1945, I got hold of a copy of the book and from the pictures shown, the main street was a bit of a mess.

Now back to 1981 – in our weekend time off we would on occasion sample the sights of the City of Bremen which of course took in the main street.

Back in the days gone by when Bremen was a more rural town, a regular feature was a trumpet signal by a swineherd to let the townsfolk know that he was in town to sell his herd of pigs.

I don’t know when this event was discontinued but with the rebuilding of Bremen they thought it was a nice touch to add a tableau of this event in the main street as a reminder of times past.

I took some photos of the scene, reproduced here, one of which shows Andy making friends with the livestock, and a second picture of our team and the Swineherd, with the Swineherd letting the public know of his arrival.

This is the end of my story but on a personal note I would like to get in touch with Andy if he is still in the land of the living. If anyone knows of his whereabouts, would they please let me know?

Please contact via Bill Brand, the editor of this newsletter.

Tom King

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