British soldiers?

[Iver]

Dear Friends.

Have bought some Austro - Hungarian military photos and this one was between them. are these british soldiers? there is something written on the building, the second word is Barracks but cant read the first one... where can it be? Germany?

thanks for help

Ivan

Edited August 23, 2017 by Iver

[coldstream]

I would say, yes, British Army based on Uniform and Rifle and although not clear, probably 8th Army Formation looking at the Formation patch. Fought there way up through Italy and ended the War in Austria?

Regards Simon

[bigjarofwasps]

I'd say with a fair element of certainty that this photo was taken in somewhere in Germany. 

[GreyC]

Hi,

a high resolution scan of the writing on hte wall might be helpful.

GreyC

[The Prussian]

Hello!

The barracks looks like german or austrian...

Maybe Dortmund, there was a large british garrisson after the 2nd war

[Iver]

Its scanned in 1200DPI, i dont think it would be better... :/ Building really seems to be "german" style...

[The Prussian]

Hello!

I can recognize an "y" at the end of the 1st word.

Here is a list of the closed british barracks in germany:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_geschlossenen_britischen_Militärstandorte_in_Deutschland

Here is a list of the present barracks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Army_installations#Germany

 

Maybe: Llanelly Barracks in Düsseldorf-Hubbelrath:

[The Prussian]

BUT!

As bigjarofwasps said, the 8th army fought in Itala, later in Austria...

What about the 8th army signals in Austria?

http://baor-locations.org/Austria.aspx.html

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?f[0]=agentString%3ABritish Army%2C British Troops Austria&query=

Edited August 26, 2017 by The Prussian

[coldstream]

Can we see the Formation badge and Shoulder titles any clearer? May be of assistance.

Regards Simon

[Iver]

..this is the best i fear....

[GreyC]

Hi,

so, good that you enlarged it after all.

Llanelly Barracks it is. (see #7)

GreyC

[The Prussian]

Thanks  GreyC!

But how does it fit with 8th army?

Note the 8th army was dissolved after armistice! They served in Italy and came straight up to Austria.

I can´t see a link to Düsseldorf, i.e. Germany, but the barracks name would fit wonderfully...

http://baor-locations.org/LlanellyBarracks.aspx.html

Edited August 26, 2017 by The Prussian

[coldstream]

Looking at the enlarged image of the Formation Badges it well not be 8th Army, a number of Commands used the shield shape, it obviously depends on the colours. 

 

Simon

[The Prussian]

Hello Simon!

That was my thought too.

The key could be the date of the photo. Because of the quality I assume, it was taken in the early 50s.

The 8th army had nothing in common with Germany.

Do you have any ideas of formations with that cross? The colour could be bright red, green or blue too

Here I´ve got a table of british patches on the continent and overseas. (post ´45; book from Guido Rosignoli: Rang- und Ehrenabzeichend der Armeen seit 1945)

The allied command in Austria had a yellow cross too. The British Rhine Army had red or blue crosses.

Maybe reinforcements from England stopped in Düsseldorf on their way to Austria?

Please not the patches of the britush 8tzh army. They had not a straight top-line, but a "curved" one.

https://www.google.de/search?client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&q=patch+british+8th+army&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAsJ3srPTVAhXRZ1AKHdGLDSIQvwUIIigA&biw=1680&bih=886&dpr=1

Maybe a polish unit???

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-west-polskie-si-y-zbrojne-na-zachodzie-1939-1947/3-dsk-1st-battalion-434567/

Edited August 26, 2017 by The Prussian

[Jerry B]

British troops occupation forces in Austria, an almost identical badge to the 8th Army

[The Prussian]

Hello Jeryy!

But what about the fact, the 8th army was dissolved after armistice?

[Bayern]

British soldiers but not 8 th Army , a little contribution , among the british units occupyng Austria was the 12th Lancers , posted  in Meidling Barracks , Vienna . 

[The Prussian]

Hello!

Do you read "Meidling" Barracks? To me it´s Llanelly. Or did the 12th Lancers stop there for a meal on their way to Austria?

But as far as I know, the 12th Lancers fought in Italy 1943,and they were justt a short time in Austria (1945)

[Bayern]

The Prussian : No i dont read meidling , i just said that the 12th Lancers were part of the British ocupation force in Austria and they lodged in the Meidling Barracks ,Vienna .

[Jerry B]

On 26/08/2017 at 19:25, The Prussian said:

Hello Jeryy!

But what about the fact, the 8th army was dissolved after armistice?

Perhaps you misunderstood my post, but it is not 8th army, it is British Troops in Austria, (as I posted) and the Occupation Forces were mostly made up of ex 8th army soldiers so they used a very similar badge, in fact they are hard to tell apart.

[The Prussian]

Hello Jerry!

The blame is on the women! "Miss Understanding"...

Ok, what about the name of the barracks? It was loctaed in Düsseldorf-Hubbelrath.

Probably I am right with my thought of the break on their way to Austria?

[Guards Armoured]

Hello everyone,

The shade of the battledress uniforms seems very dark to me, so I am guessing they are dark blue and that the shoulder title in the picture (blue on red?) reads "M.S.O" for Mixed Service Organisation, a post-war BAOR unit driving lorries, pulling guard duty etc. and initially issued with old BDs dyed a dark brown-blue before they had their own uniforms designed. Many MSO members or "mojos" were Displaced Persons, e.g. former Polish or Yugoslavian soldiers who preferred to stay this side of the Iron Curtain (this might explain why the picture wound up among others from Austria-Hungary). Typical formation signs worn by the MSO were the different British Army of the Rhine variants, in this case it might be Rhine District (BAOR) - a dark blue cross and a yellow shield.(identical to "Hamburg District" in post #14).

Just my two cents,

Cheers from Shanghai,

Robert

[The Prussian]

Hello Robert!

As far as I know, all Rhin district badges were made in blue/red colours, weren´t they?

[Guards Armoured]

Hi Andy,

 

 I am referring to information gleaned from "Badges on Battledress", by Lt Col Howard Cole, published in 1953, page 30. Most BAOR formation signs were based on that worn by 21 Army Group (blue cross on a red shield) and had some additional symbols added - with the exception of Hamburg District and Rhine District, which Cole describes as blue on yellow. I do seem to remember the blue/red ones being worn in BAOR, but am still looking for a reference on these.

 

Best

Robert

[The Prussian]

Ah, I don´t know that book. It would be great, if you could get those informatzions!

Thanks a lot in advance!