Martin and I met while serving in the Army.  We both trained as terminal equipment technicians at 8th Signal Regiment Catterick Garrison and were on a Potential Technicians course that took a year to complete, that led to qualifications in electrical and mechanical engineering (City & Guilds).  After qualifying we were held at Catterick for three months before both of us getting the same posting to 28 (BR) Signal Regiment, BAOR 35.  We both ended up in the same troop (Delta Troop) and became close friends.  We had some great times while serving, both as soldiers, technician's and socially.  I remember us both going into Krefeld on our first night out before we got our first month's wages. Our training wages were basic and by the time we got to Germany our pockets were virtually empty.     Still, we were determined to sample the night life.  With just about enough money in our pockets to get a bus there and back to the camp (the city was about 8 miles from our camp that was located between St Tonis and Ficheln) and buy a few drinks.  We met up with some guys we recognised from 8th Signal Regiment who had been on other courses and had been posted to another Signal Regiment that was north of Krefeld (16th Signal Regiment), so we joined up with them.  They somehow recognised that we had just been posted and basically bought all our drinks for us as well as food from what we called Schnelle's (basically meaning fast food/ fish and chip shops, but instead of fish, they sold various sausages such as bratwurst).  As a joke one of the guys from the other regiment suggested we ask for zwei mal Bier and pimel (Pimel is a German rude word that I won't mention here) We were given quite a look by the lady who served us, but apparently she was used to it from British soldiers   The guys even  paid for our taxi  back to camp by giving us a 20 mark note, which back then was worth over  £6 but that was  way too much to pay for the taxi (and a lot of money back in the mid 70's).  I asked how we could pay everything back as they must have spent a small fortune on drinks, entry into a club and the food etc, but was told, just do the same for someone else.  Because of that night, I've lived by that philosophy ever since.

When we went on military exercises, usually for a couple of weeks, we were issued with bivouac tents which were one man, but Martin and I used to join our two tents together as it was warmer in the middle of winter sharing a tent with a friend.  We had a mess tent, where,  When off duty we would spend our time playing various card games in the Mess tent,  or if we were lucky, they would  show us a film.  One of the films they showed us, that neither of us had seen was The Exorcist.  The Mess tent had a couple of wood fired burners so kept the large marquee like mess tent warm and toasty during the winter months. We used to avoid going to our bivouac tents for as long as possible because the outside temperatures often reached minus 16 in the winter months.  

Whenever I think of Martin (usually when I'm reminiscing about being in the army, as we were really close for the whole of the time we served in Germany and during our trade training at 8 Signal Regiment.

I write this today because I was thinking of the time, we were on a Queens parade when the Queen came to Catterick Garrison because a road was being renamed Queens Avenue.  Whenever I think of my army time I always think of Martin, and for years I've wondered how he was getting on.

We both talked about getting out of the army and ended up purchased our discharge at the same time in November 1978, and the last time I spoke to Martin face to face was on Darlington Station the day we were discharged.  We promised to stay in touch and did so for a while, corresponding by letter.  I still have the letters he sent me.  In his last letter I received from him, he said he was moving house, but he failed to tell me the address and we lost touch; this was probably because I also moved several months after I'd received  the last letter from Martin, so I've always assumed he did try to contact me, but because I no longer lived at the address I'd given him, he was in the same situation as me with respect to not being able to contact me.   

I tried several times to find him over the early 80s to the early 90's; going to the library looking through various phone books to see if I could find a phone number with his name and address included, and even contacting the Royal Corps of Signals, who keep records of discharged soldiers until they have completed their colour service (which is whatever's left from 22 years minus the time they served in the regular's.  When you are in the colours you are basically in civvy street, but if there were any conflicts, you would be the first to be called back up.  I was told that they couldn't give out addresses of other soldiers.      Sadly, I gave up trying to find Martin years after many failures at trying. 

It was hearing of our Queens passing last night (8th September) that I started to think of my army days and the Queens parade, for which we trained for months as there were some complex movements that had to be synchronised such as moving from ranks of three to ranks of two.    Inevitably I thought of Martin and decided to look online to see if I could find him.  I tried Facebook, but of the three Martin Cosgriff's I found, none looked like the Martin I remember, or didn't live in Leamington (I was assuming he still lived there).   So, I just Googled Martin Cosgriff, Leamington Spa, and found two entries immediately.  The first one was a dedication page like this one, but it was very empty, with just one dedication; I left a note with some information asking if I was posting for the Martin I knew and left a contact email, but wasn't sure; so, I checked this one and as soon as I saw the photo of Martin in his garden, I knew I'd finally found him almost 44 years after we parted. 

I'm so sorry to hear of his passing; I was so hoping to be able to write and catch up. :( 

I remember him saying he would return to the job he left before he joined the army as a heating engineer; whether he continued in that career until he retired, I don't know.  I would dearly love to know how things turned out for Martin over the intervening years from leaving the army and if possible, send me a few photos of him via email.  I still see him as a 20 something in my mind's eye. I remember him showing me a photograph of himself before he joined the army with shoulder length hair, laying on the floor, with a bottle of something tipped up ready to drink.  He said he was really P***ed.  It's odd how we can remember details like that.

Plese do contact me on Whiterabbit-uk@hotmail.co.uk

Regards

Stephen Brown

p.s. I have some negatives of photo's I took, (not many).  If I can get them converted to digital, I'll send you the images of Martin that I have.  I no longer of any actual photo's just the negatives.