Although the Squadron had left LANGELEBEN, it was
still obliged to man the setroom on a full 24-hour
basis, with operators being bussed down from Celle to
complete a 24-hour shift. The Squadron was a regular
visitor to Langy, when it carried out deployments for
training. In addition, other armies' units found the
location ideal for their own deployments, including
Americans (both from Germany and the US), Danes, Germans
and French. Many friendships were sealed during and
after these visits.
The beginning of the end of LANGELEBEN can be dated
from 9 October 1989, when the
Berlin
Wall was breached and the Inner German Border
opened. Those who lived through it will never forget the
events of those Autumn days. Königslutter, being so
close to the border was quickly swamped by droves of
'Trabbis'. Supermarkets were swiftly emptied of stocks,
and the euphoria of the Reunification gradually
evaporated as the town reeled under the weight of the
mob of pushing, gawping strangers in their evil smelling
puddle-jumpers.
Another old Cold War veteran disappeared in early
1991 - the
British
Military Train, which had travelled daily between
Braunschweig and Berlin since 1945. Under the terms of
the Reunification Treaty, all Soviet troops were to be
out of the former GDR by 1995. This was taken by the
permanent staff at Langeleben as confirmation of what
they had long suspected, that the closure of langy, at
least in its present form, was imminent. Operations in
the setroom were reduced to normal working hours, Monday
to Friday. Throughout BAOR exercises had been reduced to
a minimum following the reduction in tension in Europe.
The British Government introduced a review of defence
commitments called 'Options for Change'.
Not surprisingly, daily operations were now a thing
of the past, as the Soviet Forces in the former GDR
continued their withdrawal apace. The Commanding Officer
decreed that the camp be used by squadrons from Celle to
carry out various types of training, jogging,
orienteering, sports or even some trade training in the
setroom, and the squadrons certainly availed themselves
of Langy's facilities when they could.
With the Options for Change decisions being put into
effect, the axe finally fell in February 1992, when the
closure date for Langeleben Camp was announced as 30
November 1992. A feeling of sadness was felt by all who
had been connected with the camp and remembered the good
times they had had there.
This then, is the proud history of the camp at
LANGELEBEN, which quietly and often ignored, made its
not insignificant contribution to the maintenance of
peace in Europe for over 41 years.
1992.
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