Location: Bünde

Name:Bünde
BFPO:46
Town:Bünde
Country:Germany
Type(s):Primary
Notes

The map reference is courtesy of an anonynous contributor!

Zoom into the map to view the exact location.

The school closed in 1996 and, together with Fleming School (in Enger), was merged into Lister School, Herford.

Images and information courtesy of Bill Johnston.

Bünde had several MQ estates - the largest, Hunnebrock was where the school, NAAFI and Medical Centre were located.
The other estates were Holsen, Besenkamp, Südlengern and (for Officers) Behringstraß/Engelstraße.

Bünde School from the air (courtesy of the Army Air Corps).
The famous Nissen hut classrooms are marked.

The main entrance at the front of the school.

Two classrooms were in this Nissen hut at the rear of the school.
Although two new classrooms were built in around 1972, to accommodate extra numbers, the Nissen hut remained in use until at least 1975.

The day the circus came to school.

The children of Class 4 meet the army and record their experiences.

The Soviets lived within a British married officers' compound.
The small guard post on the LHS of the bottom right image marks the entrance to the former SOXMIS in Bünde.

The area of the British MQs with the location of SOXMIS marked in red.
The Soviet area was enclosed with a chain link fence outside tall, thick hedge plants.

There were sometimes issues concerning SOXMIS that needed to be addressed.

This is the green hut in question. A German civilian, presumably employed by the British forces, noted down the time and date of each passing Soxmis car whether it was leaving or returning. The British children living on the patch used to chat to the man in the hut and he would give them sweets for enlivening his monotonous work.
However, the words of the SSO cast some doubt on this story!

Ian Johnston, the headteacher's son in the Reception Class with the tallest Y6 pupil.

Bünde School staff dated 1972..... Headteacher Charles Brotherton (centre) and Bill Johnston (RHS)

A later image, probably 1973/74, with Headteacher, Bill Johnston (centre).

Two school photographs from 1981 & 1991.....readers may remember Nick Williams as "The Bird Man".
Stuart Fell was the final headteacher and then a member of the Advisory Service.

Bill Johnston visited the school in the year 2000.