Photos of the first ten years 1978-1988

[Bill Medland]

Butlitz 1980 part 2

A Mac Cartoon from the Daily Mail, whilst in a debate about the 1980 budget a member of Parlement said to the opposition
"The honerable gentleman should spend two weeks in Butlitz".




DAILY STAR Monday 24th November 1980







Bob Acraman, Otto Lancaster, Dave Bennett and Tony Dudman.

[Bill Medland]

Butlitz 1980 part 3

THE DAILY EXPRESS








Tony Dudman, Otto Lancaster (partly hidden), Mike Passmore and Dave Bennett.



Middle of row with his hands in his pockets is the late Phil Plane (BRA American).

[Bill Medland]

Butlitz 1980 part 4

DAILY MIRROR




This photo was taken as the POWs had been marched in on the first day, so that must be me in the watch tower
as I was on first shift in that very unsafe thing that moved with the wind.








Perhaps the ONLY remaining "official" guards pass for Butlitz?



The BRA report in the newsletter "BRA BULLETIN".

[Bill Medland]

Butlitz 1980 part 5

I have more pictures somewhere but I can only find three at the moment...........




This was taken just after the raid by British Airborne Forces in two jeeps led by Mike Ross. Mike fired a Thompson at the
windows to the HQ building as the jeeps raced along, I was in the corridor and we took cover as the glass splinters rained
about us as the blasts from the blanks broke the windows!




Shift change at Butlitz, we operated in 12 hour shifts..... right is my brother, Martin.




Left: Bob Whittaker.

What remains today?

Dave Page tells me that there is a DVD of the Southern TV programme, which I have never seen by the way, but from
all accounts it would seem to be very negative (read the BRA report in my last post).

In Google there is very little to find, a German language report from 1980 on PDF file, worth looking at if only to
see the images of Otto Lancaster......

http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/dokumen ... op=SPIEGEL

One other mention was by NAReS, which uses images I posted a year or so ago.......

http://www.nares.org.uk/news_pages/obit ... r_mann.htm




http://www.nfo.ac.uk/collections/record ... 000-0.html

The image above (showing John Oxlade) was on an ITN videoclip, but sadly can only be viewed by registered users and we
can not register. The write-up can be read though. It mentions someone in the tower machine-gunning POWs trying to
escape over the wire. Well, we had been told by Passmore to fire off all our remaining blanks as we were packing up.
I did so and the ITN team came over and asked me to do it again, I told them that I had no blanks remaining. They said
no problem, pretend and we will dub it on later...... My work friends on the Monday said "Saw you in the Concentration Camp!"

[coldautumn]

You have a great collection of images here. I enjoyed looking at them. Thank you for sharing...

[Bill Medland]

You have a great collection of images here. I enjoyed looking at them. Thank you for sharing...
Dentist El Paso | Dentist Beaumont

There are lots more to come, I am forced to take a break from posting due to the fact that I have two events
over the next two weeks and I still have to get my uniforms and equipment sorted out for that.

Afterwards, this thread will continue......... with lots, lots, lots more photos and scans to follow

Cheers, Willi (Bill).

[Pete Skillman]

Battle of Molash 1st-2nd July 1978 part 2



Badger Ross getting the "Kraut Crusher" ready for the battle.



The American advance to our positions, the battle went on all day, just look at the distance they had to cover!



The battle reaches its end, the last two standing protecting the flag.



Very young John Lancaster (later SBG) and Bill Medland.

Is that Young Ron Keating walking past right of the Schwimmer?...

[Bill Medland]

Is that Young Ron Keating walking past right of the Schwimmer?...

Yes it is, he certainly was a member of the group at that time as his name can be found in the early newsletters.

I have returned from my holiday and will be posting again soon

[Chorlitz|12.SS|]

Love this topic, Gona ask Otto so many qustions next time I see him.

[Bill Medland]

This week I will be posting images from 1980



The first events with the Swedish tunics, early 1980





The bacon cooker refered to was my entrenching tool, which I always used to cook bacon on at events.




Fallschirmjäger (Regt.6) Tom Gulliver, Bill Medland, Bob Ross and John Lancaster( later SBG).




A mixture of Heer, Fallschirmjäger and Bundeswehr items that would no longer be allowed today.
(in the Bundeswehr shirt is a very young John Oxlade)

More 1980 images to follow...........

(Edit: Name added to photo caption)

[Pete Skillman]

Fallschirmjäger (Regt.6) Tom Gulliver, Bill Medland, an unknown BRA member and John Lancaster( later SBG).


Hi Willi,Unknown BRA member = a Very Young Bob Ross, stayed in a while doing Falbones then did Hampshires for a few yrs...The pic of Johann looks to be Caerphilly site,wales ?...

[Bill Medland]

Hi Willi,Unknown BRA member = a Very Young Bob Ross, stayed in a while doing Falbones then did Hampshires for a few yrs...The pic of Johann looks to be Caerphilly site,wales ?...

Thanks Pete, it is difficult sometimes to place names to faces after 30 years, thanks for that, I do now recall him being called Bob.

The other pic is indeed Wales.

Cheers, Willi.

[Bill Medland]

More 1980




This BRA Bulletin article may help to date some of the early TV shows we were involved in.




Thruxton was the "Beltring" of the early days, everyone into WW2 Reenactment went to Thruxton in those days.



The London based 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment.

[Bill Medland]

In memory of the late Mike Ross

[Bill Medland]

Back to 1978 for moment......



I was looking for an old newsletter produced by the BRA Southern Germans called "Ugly Business", I do have a single issue
somewhere, anyway I discovered one of the very first membership cards and this is what they looked like back then.



Back in 1978 the American, British and German groups were of equal size, so a membership number of 32 puts me within the first dozen
Wehrmacht reenactors in the UK..... how far we have come since then in numbers, the hobby has grown beyond our
wildest dreams