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More about the tank tracks at Stainton Camp

by eileenohara

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Contributed by听: eileenohara
Location of story:听: Stainton Camp, Barnard Castle. Co Durham
Background to story:听: Army
Article ID:听: A5225401
Contributed on:听: 20 August 2005

This tank track leads to what later became a primary school. It closed in the early 1970s.

I live on this former army camp and want to know more about the tank tracks. Does anyone know who built them and when they were built?

This section of tank track now leads to an industrial estate but it was once at the heart of a specially built World War 2 army training camp which included a GHQ Battle School. It remained in military use until the early 1970s.

There were 5 other camps nearby: Barford, Humbleton, Streatlam, Westwick and Deerbolt.

There was another camp known as Staindrop Camp but I don't where that was; unless it was the lower part of Streatlam Camp. There was a tented camp at Raby Castle in Staindrop called the 30VR Raby Repair Depot.

One of the tank tracks has been recognised as a public right of way and we'd like to keep it as it is. It seems to be the only one of the many tank tracks locally that is still open for use by the general public and it would be a pity to lose it just to allow development.

Can anyone help?

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Message 1 - Barnard Castle

Posted on: 20 August 2005 by Ron Goldstein

Dear Eileen
Sorry if I can't help you with your tank tracks but you might be able to confirm an early memory of my own.

In February 1942 I was on a Battle Course at Barnard Castle with my then regiment the 112th Light Ack Rgt.RA.

I have memories of a local dance hall that had very lush fittings bought from a Cunard liner which included the dance floor itself
.
Is this documented locally or/and does the dance hall still exist?

Many thanks for any info

Ron

听

Message 2 - Barnard Castle

Posted on: 20 August 2005 by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper

Eileen -
I feel sure that I responded to your query many months ago, and as I recall the camp your refer to was the home of the 59th R.A.C. Training regt,
Streatlam was the home of the 61st Training regt R.A.C. and they had their classrooms in the lower camp about a mile towards Barney on the LH side of the road. Deerbolt was the home of the 54th Training regt RAC. - the battle school was across the valley and the railway tracks. The rail station at Staindrop was our favourite jumping off place to get off the last train from Darlington,in order to beat the curfew of 23.59 on a saturday night. The Staindrop home of the 59th was also the home of the infamous dentist of whom I wrote a few weeks ago - unforgettable - also unforgettable was the fact that the 59th were a scruffy lot compared to the Horse Guards training we had at the 61st , when we sent a pair of boots to be repaired to the 59th - the cobbler was a sadistic type who took great delight in running his rasp across the highly polished toe caps of our boots, rendering them useless for parade for at least a month before we could get them back to what they were, we never could trace him as his army life would have ended about there ! The Battle School was also the scene of my best friend Frank Alison dropping a live grenade
into the slit trench - never have so many moved so fast in the history of war in the four seconds it took to explode !
Don't know when the tracks were built but we didn't have that luxury in '42 as we were in a very muddy field most of the time - sometimes as a punishment for doing something wrong on the massive parade ground supervised by SSM Bob Christie - Horse Guards ! All in all it was an enjoyable time at Barney but we never went dancing there as we went to the better dance halls in Darlington ! - before we went to war !
regards

听

Message 3 - Barnard Castle

Posted on: 20 August 2005 by eileenohara

Hello Ron
There isn't a dance hall now but I'll see what I can find out, sounds interesting.
Regards
Eileen

听

Message 4 - Barnard Castle

Posted on: 20 August 2005 by eileenohara

Hello Tom
Yes I did see your earlier reply. Thanks for the extra information - I appreciate it. I just got some photocopies of RAF photos from 1945 & 1946 and am also hoping to identify parts of the camps that have disappeared.
Regards
Eileen

听

Message 5 - Barnard Castle

Posted on: 21 August 2005 by Ron Goldstein

Dear Eileen

One of the rare advantages of being in one's eighties is the opportunity it gives one of making silly mistakes and then being forgiven :)

Within hours of posting my response to your piece on Barnard Castle I went back to my diaries and realised I had confused Barnard Castle with Haltwhistle (which was where I had originally come across the dance hall with the Cunard Liner fittings).

To a Londoner, every place after Watford up is 'up North' so you can see where I went wrong !

Apologies for wasting your time and good luck with your tank tracks

Ron

ps
Must remember to check with my diaries BEFORE posting

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