caterham

Take care and kind regards,

Ian & Mary WHYTE, 38 Dewsbury St, Middle Park, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Ph. 07 3715 7591

Caterham Barracks

Photo taken by Brian Brenchley

Update 12 April 06

Click on pictures for larger image

Main Gate

1877----1960

For more than a century, the Guards Depot at Caterham in Surrey played a major part in military history, the War Department purchased the land in 1875, the Guards Depot was built in 1877, at a cost of �46.273.00
Thousands upon thousands of recruits, Grenadiers, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, and Welsh Guardsmen, passed through the depot on their way to the various Regiments.
Caterham Barracks ceased being a training Depot in 1960, after which one of the five Regiments of the Brigade of Guards, were stationed here until 1995.

On Thursday March 23rd 1995, the flag of the Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards was lowered for the last time and the Guardsmen marched out.

Barrack Guard 1957

No Large Image

Chapel and part of Officers Mess.
It's still named as the Officers Mess

Looking across the 'Green' towards NAAFI - Monk Block etc

Front of Sgts & Cpl's Mess & Part of front of Elizabeth Block

Sign on path leading to the above Building. Also more of Elizabeth Block front

Note what the building is now used for!!
Not a lot of difference from our day's eh!!!

View showing Rear of Elizabeth block & Front of York Block, VW Polo (White) about where Post Office was I think?

Quartermasters Block & Part of The Gym. No sign of 'Clock Tower' though.

The road here with arrow on is on 'hallowed ground' The small building on the left is something they have built using reclaimed bricks etc. Note the parade of shops where the much frequented cafe was the left hand one (Now Chinese Take-away of course) Big Tesco store where Orderly Room, Sgt Majors office and Married Quarters were. Everything generally in the area looks so different - but it is over 50 years ago. Enjoy your memories old friends.

The following pictures below were taken by Brian Brenchley on his Nostalgia Trip to Caterham March 2006

Canadian Guards � Indoctrination
At Caterham in 1954

Posted with the kind permission of the Canadian Guards Association

http://www.canadianguards.ca/contents.htm

Gerry, the 2nd pic I have enclosed, a bit of trivia, is one of dad, again as the R.S.M., dad was instrumental in developing the various drill movements for the soon to be released SLR, hope you find them of interest.
Kind regards, Ian.

P.S. I have 2 brothers currently residing in Canada, one at Fort Erie and the other in Toronto. Great country but too cold for me I�m afraid, I prefer the heat.

The 2nd pic referred to is shown above and D/Sgt J. West is seated on the front row � 4th from the left. RSM Whyte is 8th from the left.

Click on for larger image

Hello,

Please let me introduce myself, my name is Ian Whyte and I am the number 2 son of now deceased Major Donald Whyte MBE, ex Scots Guards. Way back in about 1957, dad was the then Regimental Sergeant Major of the Guards Depot in Caterham, Surrey, England I would have been about 6 years old then.

I was doing some research last night on Caterham and specifically I was looking for some photo�s of the old Guards Depot, you may be aware that the old barracks was sold long ago, it is now a housing estate, the old barrack rooms have now been converted into apartments. Trawling through the various search engines I came upon an entry that referred to the Canadian Guards Association, my curiosity got the better of me as I remember an old photo now held as a family memento. You can just imagine my joy when I opened up a page on your site, there seated amongst a group of Canadian Guardsmen is my now departed dad, some of those same Guards members depicted on your site I believe are shown in the photo in my possession and forwarded to you below, you may like to include the attached photo in a future magazine, if you have one that is, or post it on your association web site, you may also now like to put a name to the R.S.M. seated with the group of Canadian Guardsmen depicted on your site.

RSM D. Whyte & Lt Col Gore-Langton

Hello Gerry
Glad that you got the picture o.k. I may have given you some wrong information however. From records I have, it would appear that the date you gave on your web page is correct, the year being 1954. Dad was the Regimental Sgt Major of the then Caterham Guards Depot; it was during this period that the group of Canadian Guards came over to the U.K. for tuition from dad; dad later returned to Caterham with the regiment when it was based in Caterham around 1957, sorry for the confusion.

For your viewing pleasure, I have forwarded to you another 2 pics, one depicts dad as the R.S.M. of the Guards Depot in 1954, the same picture also shows a good friend of dad's who is also now deceased but went on to your Guards Depot in Canada, the late R.S.M. J West, I�m sure there are members of your association who will remember him. (See below)

The Caterham saga continues! Ians Brother Bill Whyte writes in.

I am a former Scots Guardsman now living in King City, Ontario. I recently had the opportunity of locating your fine web site and found that you had a photograph of your first instructors and included in the picture was my late father, Donald McNab Whyte, Scots Guards, who at the time was the RSM of the Guards Depot at Caterham. I have several photographs of my father and members of the Canadian Guards. I have located one such photograph which is attached hereto.

I will attempt to locate the other photographs which are somewhere in my house. Best wishes to all former Guardsmen,

Bill Whyte

Officers and NCOs included in these photos are Major TM MacDonald, Major PA Mayer, Capt DR Brochu, WO1 JJT McManus, Lt M Barnett, Lt JJ Bray,
Lt JC Turgeon, 2Lt GR Cheriton, Sgt AJ Doucet, Sgt PJ Stone and 2 other WO2s. (G

The Gerry referred to in this document is The WEBMASTER of The Canadian Guards Association.

The Gerry referred to in this document is The WEBMASTER of The Canadian Guards Association.

Picture posted by Ian Nash

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Wellington & Edward Blocks 1938

A RECRUIT IN CATERHAM BARRACKS

Oh TO BE A SQUARD INSTRUCTOR