11BEZ. SECTION, ROYAL MILITARY POLICE, SIMMERINGERHAUPSTRASSE,VIENNA, AUSTRIA 1945-55.

The R.M.P. section on Simmeringerhaupstrasse was located in a large detached private house, built in the 1930's. The daughter of the original owners lives in the house to this day.

The house was located approximately three quarters of a mile away from the railway crossing at Schwechat which marked the border of the Russian zone of Austria. This was also the main road toVienna airport and Budapest.

The house was commandeered by the British military in 1945 at the end of the second world war. I would imagine the close proximity to the Russian zone border was the main reason, plus the fact that directly opposite the R.M.P. post was a large expanse of land which I understood would be used as an emergency airstrip, should the Soviets have closed the Vienna airport or the main access road. No construction took place on this land until after 1955.

In 1950 a new head of British intelligence was appointed to head the Vienna office which at that time was considered a very important assignment having regard to the number of Soviet bloc countries with common borders to Austria.

The roll of 11 Bez. R.M.P. was about to change dramatically.

Investigation revealed that the telephone lines taken over by the Soviet military, linking the Vienna commandatua to several of their units, including the military airfield at Schewechat ran underground within a few metres of the driveway entrance to 11 Bez. Section.

Experts in telephone engineering and a mining consultant who specialized in tunnels, were brought in from the U.K.

A tunnel approximately four feet square was constructed from the basement of the house, under the driveway to just short of the main Vienna to Budapest road. The soil was graded and bagged and stored in two of the three cellars along with timbers to shore up the tunnel in the case of emergency. The third cellar was fitted out for the telephone tapping equipment and a ventilation system.

For obvious reasons it has been difficult to research the earlier years of 11 Bez, but most of the 105 Club members will know Tony Hepburn who spent four and a half years in Vienna (lucky sod). He was posted to 11 Bez. In 1951 and he has assisted with his knowledge of the operation, including the immediate neighbours, local characters, very friendly guesthouse owners and certain ladies of the area.

In 1954 I arrived at Schönbrunn barracks on a wet May evening. Like the majority of you, 18 years of age, never been away from his mum. My father had been a regular soldier and I had signed on for three years, to give it a try to the delight of my father and the utter dismay of my mother.

After only about ten days at Schonbrunn and no more than five or six I.P. patrols I was instantly summoned to gods office (Major George Pillitz).

I'm glad I wasn't wearing k.d. shorts at the time because at that age, having only just arrived I'm sure there was some vapour running down my leg. To make matters worse I was accompanied by the R.S.M. and a Sergeant who I had not seen or met before, Sgt Vaughan .They appeared to have a good insight into my family's military background.

I was told that I would be leaving Schönbrunn and joining Sgt Vaughan who was in charge of a small section located on the outskirts of the city. I was presented with a document, told to read it in about thirty seconds flat, it didn't appear to matter if I understood it. I must have signed it about five times to be witnessed by the major and sergeant to be told then that it was the official secrets act. I still didn't have a clue. I was told to go and pack my kit and meet Sgt.Vaughan at 0830 the following morning. "I will see you at a later date good day." I must have saluted about ten times before I left.

I walked back to my room in a trance, thinking "what was all that about."

I was sharing a room with two other chaps and hoping that they would put me right, I don't remember who they were, I had been there such a short time and this was the end of my international patrol career! I started packing and one of the chaps asked me if I had been R.T.U.d They had both heard of Klagenfurt and Graz, but this 11 Bez. "Never heard of it mate".

I duly presented myself at the top of the stairs outside the duty control room at 0830 to be met by Sgt. Vaughan. He was very smart, in uniform, but wearing brown shoes and carrying his white belt as though he had no intention of ever wearing it again. Parked at the bottom of the stairs was a 15 cwt.truck and when I was introduced to the driver I thought "He's not in the army dressed like that" but it was Derek Norman ( A great character). I was in the back of the 15 cwt. As we trundled through Vienna, we eventually arrived at a large detached house with a sign outside "BEZ X1 ROYAL MILITARY POLICE". I had not been R.T.U.d.

As I alighted from the rear of the truck I noticed a uniformed L/cpl, viewing me from a large window overlooking the drive. Several chaps appeared to give me a hand with my kit. They were all dressed in a different assortment of clothing. Over the next hours or maybe a couple of days I was introduced to the following members of the section. Cpl's. Jim Grant and Bill Allen. L/cpls Jock Purvis, Derek Norman (again). Colin Holt, Danny Warren, Willie Whiston, Dave Perry and whilst I was there we were joined by Keith Ames, Jock White, Brian Hammond and Roy Walters.

I was then taken on a grand tour of the house and after just over one week of luxury at Schönbrunn in a room with just two other chaps and all the locker room you could wish for, I was suddenly bunked up in a room half the size with five other blokes and no locker space between any of us. A great deal of our gear was stored in the attic. At least there were two bathrooms. Downstairs consisted of a large kitchen, a lounge come dining room and a general office which had clear views to the front and side of the house. A large desk sat in the corner of the office, the top drawer of which had been removed to allow a sten gun and a .38 Webley to live there, both loaded. Concealed underneath the desk top was a bell alarm system which operated to the cellars below and the bedrooms.

My next part of the tour began with a number of signals on the bell whereupon the cellar door was unlocked from the inside and I was greeted by a chap dressed in P.T. shorts and plimsols.

For the next eighteen months this was to be part of my world of tape recorders, foreign languages, the most important being able to identify Russian. Most of the equipment was automatic it was just a case of changing used tapes and making sure they were running smoothly and we were picking up all the taps. We would work three or four shifts and you were glad when you had finished yours. It was either stinking hot or freezing.

During the night the operation went into automatic unless there was a directive from Schonbrunn that the operation had to be controlled manually for 24 hours. I can only remember two occasions that this had happened.

On a number of occasions we had visits from civilian telephone engineers, I assume from the U.K., but a regular visitor was from a chap called Sergeant Pargetter, except that he was not in the forces! He checked out all the recording equipment on a regular basis.

We did have one scare during my stint at 11 Bez. The Austrian telephone service developed a fault on their cables and started digging up the roadway about 20 yards from the end of the driveway, but advancing in our direction. They stopped just short of where the tunnel would be, but the tunnel engineer came out from the U.K.

I suppose the blind for the operation was to have a British Military presence near to the Russian zone crossing, but also for the Military Police to escort The British European Airways passenger bus through the Russian zone to the airport and back. This duty provided a welcome relief from phone tapping in the cellar. It gave you the chance to appear smart and wear a uniform for a change. We carried a sten gun on this duty and the B.E.A. bus would stop outside the gates to the section. (For those who have forgotten the drivers name, it was Herr Malik).

The best bit of this little duty was the return trip. The passengers who had just arrived in Vienna would board the bus, and just as it left the airport we would board, red cap and sten gun. There was usually a slight hush and the occasional comment of "What's the Russians doing on board". You would allow Herr Makik to drive a short distance then you would turn round and give the passengers a bit of good old Yorkshire "How Do".

I think we could call another so called outside duty, "A complete farce". Patrol 11 Bez. in the jeep. There were no troops anywhere near and nobody knew where the place was. This in a way was an essential patrol to check that all was well at Alfie Lorenz's guesthouse on Kaiserledorferstrasse.

Alfie was one of those characters who supplied all the beer and schnitzels, and would buy all our cigarettes and all those lousey tins of fish in oil that young lads of our age wouldn't touch. Harry Lime was second division compared to Alfie.

During my time at 11 Bez. we had a couple of Russian squadies who came down the driveway and we took them into the office. We assumed that they were asking for asylum, but we couldn't understand them and they were blind drunk! There was a telephone number straight through to the Russians, if this happened, and shortly afterwards four Russians arrived, one with some rank, who could only say "good night, thank you". After his next command the other three started kicking six buckets of shit out of these two and they certainly assisted them back up the drive to their truck. The duty M.P. had activated the alarm system and sten guns appeared at the top of the stairs. We also had some Hungarians or Czechs one night and these were collected by the Intel. Corps people.
The final chapter of 11 Bez. started in September 1955. Some of the lads had moved out, including our cook, so we all had to muck in, sorting a meal out. This is where good old Alfie Lorenz's guesthouse came into it's own.

It was time to close down the operation prior to all the forces leaving Austria. The taps were taken off the phone lines, all the recording equipment was removed and with the assistance of the civil engineers the tunnel was filled in using the correct grading of soil. There were only seven or eight of us left at the house, I don't know who locked the door! I had three days at Schonbrunn getting my kit in order before I was on a train bound for 11 Armd. Div. Provost H.Q. at Herford, Germany. After a week at H.Q. and one patrol in a new Austin Champ, I got the call again. See the C.O. or it may have been his No.2 at 1000 the following morning. I had no sooner said "Good morning Sir"when I was told that I was being sent to number 6 Section at Hildesheim and I would be picked up that afternoon. I thought at the time, " Here we go again", but it was nothing like 11 Bez. I worked with a two man investigation team and a German interpreter covering minor crimes and road accidents and they gave me another stripe!

Like the majority of people who served in the R.M.P.this was a good experience, certainly my three years, but 11 Bez. Simmeringerhaupstrasse, Vienna, was something special. 32 years of policing was to follow.



Mick Tissington
22980674
15th July 2007.
415 Squad.