West Germany

Crewing the Cold War Chieftain tank

  Alan Hodges was a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander and troop SGT in West Germany. Mick Hadfield was his 17-year-old gunner. The affection between the two is still apparent even today and Mick still calls Al his army Dad. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts Mick met Al in 1987 … Read more

The building of the Berlin Wall

From the moment East Germany was formed in 1949, many of its citizens chose to leave to start a new life in the West. By the mid-1950s, the trickle had turned into a flood as large numbers rejected Walter Ulbricht’s Communist paradise. His ‘Workers’ & Peasants’ State’ could not afford to lose the skills and … Read more

British Army Air Corps helicopter co-pilot in Cold War Germany

Paul continues his story with his recruitment into the Army Air Corps. It’s initially delayed with a tour providing airfield repair in West Germany and then the Falklands, but finally, he’s at training at Middle Wallop, the home of the Army Air Corps. He describes the training including underwater escapes, flying and navigation. As a … Read more

A boy soldier in the Cold War Royal Engineers

Paul joined the Royal Engineers in 1977, aged 16 as an apprentice. We hear of his experience of joining the army at such a young age and being away from home for the first time. After initial training, his first posting was to Osnabruck in 1979. Shortly after his arrival Paul is appointed to the … Read more

Cold War number stations

You might remember listening to short wave radio during the Cold War and coming across weird transmissions of metallic voices reciting random groups of numbers through the ether.  These are number stations, shortwave radio stations characterised by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which were being sent to spies operating in foreign countries. Number stations were used … Read more

Tales of a West German football supporter in the Soviet bloc

You will remember Karl-Heinz from our episode  218 where he talked about being a signaller on the West German destroyer “Hamburg” in the late 70s. Today we follow his post navy life as a travelling supporter of football club HSV Hamburg where he followed them all over the Soviet bloc talks about watching them play Dynamo Berlin … Read more

Serving on the West German destroyer “Hamburg”

Karl-Heinz served in the Bundesmarine as a Signalman on the West German destroyer “Hamburg” in the late 70s. He talks of his training, his role and shares details of manoeuvres in the North Sea and Baltics involving East German and Soviet ships. He also speaks about a cruise to West Africa where the sailors were … Read more

Cold War British Army fighting tactics in West Germany

Frank Baldwin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1979 and served for ten years, rising to the rank of Major. The first battlefield study he planned was in 1989 for HQ 4th Armoured Division. Since then, he has been a guide or historian for over 200 realities of war tours, battlefield studies and staff … Read more

British Army “stay behinds” the Special OP Troop

  I speak with Colin Ferguson a veteran from the British Army‘s covert  Special Observation Post Troop which was founded in 1982. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts The “stay behind” Special OP Troop consisted of selected soldiers in 6 man patrols whose task was to dig in large underground hides known … Read more

Terrorism in the Cold War

I talk with the writers and editors of  Terrorism in the Cold War a new two volume book that uses a wide range of case studies including Polish Military Intelligence and Its Secret Relationship with the Abu Nidal Organization and Gladio – Myth and Reality: The Origins and Function of Stay Behind in the Case … Read more