LIFE IN THE BRITISH ZONE
Few CCG recruits had any knowledge of Germany, except what they had heard during the war; many had never previously travelled abroad, unless they had served in the military. What was life like for them and their families in the British Zone? This area of the website describes living conditions between 1945 and 1949, when Military Government came to an end.
Spartan First Year
Some civilians had been working alongside the military in the British Zone during the advance into Germany, but deployment of the main body of CCG personnel began in July 1945. As members of the Military Government, they were subject to the same restrictions and received the same food, accommodation, medical and other services as their military counterparts, so they ate army rations, travelled in military transport, and socialised in military clubs.
After more than five years of war, even undamaged towns in the British Zone appeared drab. Schools and other municipal buildings had been requisitioned by the Nazi government, and slave labourers had been a common sight in towns where there were factories involved in war production. In Lübbecke, the former occupants of these buildings had departed in haste, sometimes leaving their detritus behind – in the former Gauschule the British found Nazi uniforms strewn along the corridors. When the British arrived, public buildings were once again requisitioned, and the town centres of Lübbecke, Bad Oeyhausen and some other towns were enclosed within barbed wire fencing and patrolled by armed guards. These security zones were prohibited to the German population, except some local businesses, such as laundries, bakeries and garages, which were turned over to serve the occupiers. Curfews were initially imposed, but were lifted after only a few months, once it became clear that there would be no resistance to the occupation from the German population.
Appointments were initially unaccompanied, and CCG personnel were billeted in requisitioned houses which had been designated as messes. Living conditions were spartan, particularly in the first bitterly cold winters when fuel supplies were short. One unhappy CCG civilian wrote to her MP about the conditions in her billet; and Bill Yeadell, who arrived in Lübbecke the same month, was just as miserable - see Box A.
Further Detail
Follow this link to read much more about Family Life, including housing, furnishings, domestic servants, food and money.
Follow this link to read about Travel and Transport, including the voyage to Germany and the obstacles in the way of travel within Germany.
And for an eye-witness account of daily life in the British Zone see Bill Yeadell’s diaries. Bill was employed as a Control Officer in the Headquarters Secretariat in Lübbecke, where he encountered the Military Governor, General Sir Brian Robertson and other key players, and observed significant events of the immediate post-war years as they unfolded.
