British Frontier Service
Encyclopedia
The British Frontier Service was a British government organisation that was responsible for border monitoring duties in West Germany
between 1946 and 1991. Its personnel served on Germany's international borders with Denmark
, the Netherlands
and Belgium
before focusing on the inner German border. It was charged with a number of tasks, including assisting the movements of British military personnel and their dependents, monitoring the border regions and helping to defuse border incidents. It was ultimately disbanded following German reunification
.
Many of its members were recruited from the Royal Marines
, the Royal Navy
and the British Army
. Its first director was a Royal Navy officer, Captain Guy Maund DSO
. It was under his leadership that the BFS adopted its distinctive naval-style uniform with silver rank badges. Its personnel were given honorary Army ranks, with its director given the rank of full colonel
.
The BFS initially had 300 personnel, augmented by remaining personnel from the German customs service. Former German customs officials were released from prisoner of war
camps and put to work carrying out day-to-day border control duties, while the BFS concentrated on preventing illegal activities such as smuggling and unauthorised border crossings. For the first few years after the war it concentrated almost entirely on Germany's borders with Belgium
, Denmark
and the Netherlands
, leaving the border of the Soviet occupation zone almost entirely unguarded. This changed after the Berlin Blockade
of 1948-49 and the increasing flow of illegal imports from the Soviet zone. The BFS and the newly established West German Zollgrenzdienst (Federal Customs Service) were deployed along what became the inner German border from Lübeck
down to Göttingen
, a distance of some 660 kilometres (410.1 mi).
to that of the War Office, later the Ministry of Defence
(although it remained a civilian organisation). Its staff was reduced from around 300 personnel to 38, and it lost many of its executive responsibilities. A limited number of its staff worked on the eastern border but the majority worked at transit points as liaison with the German border authorities. They assisted with the movements of members of the British armed forces in Germany and their dependents, under the Status of Forces Agreement
with West Germany. The headquarters of the BFS was moved to Wahner Heider near Bonn
– now Cologne Bonn Airport
– where it was administered as part of the Joint Services Liaison Organization. Its operations along the eastern border were administered from a regional headquarters at Hannover. Additional regional liaison offices were located in Berlin
, Düsseldorf
and Helmstedt
, near the main border crossing (Checkpoint Alpha) on the Hamburg-Berlin autobahn.
The BFS went through further changes in 1967, when it was established as a permanent Civil Service organisation. Its role changed again in 1972 following the signature of the Treaty on the Basis of Relations between East and West Germany, when the two states agreed to recognise each other. The British government took the view at this point that the United Kingdom was no longer responsible for the inner German border and considered eliminating the BFS altogether. However, it was decided that it would continue to have a very limited role on the border, chiefly involving conducting liaison with the German border agencies. It was reduced to 16 members with only the British Frontier Post at Helmstedt, manned by four personnel, remaining open. The BFS was finally dissolved on 28 May 1991, following the reunification of Germany.
. West German customs or Bundesgrenzschutz
(BGS Federal Border Protection) personnel would deal directly with the East Germans with the BFS officer providing advice.
The BFS also assisted the British Army in carrying out patrols of the inner German border. Its personnel were a familiar sight, guiding units of the British Army of the Rhine
(BAOR) along the southern sector of the British zone from Lauenburg to Schmidekopf. Although the BAOR did not patrol the much shorter northern sector from Lübeck to Lauenburg, the BFS filled the gap with occasional "visits". It presented a somewhat odd appearance, described by The Times as "delightful, perhaps unique":
in 1963 following a tense incident at Bohldamm near Lüchow
in Lower Saxony
. The border ran along a stream, but its precise location was disputed. The West Germans considered the far side of the stream to be the location of the border, while the East Germans regarded the border as lying in the middle of the stream. An overgrown cobbled footbridge crossed the stream but was blocked by the East Germans with a movable barbed wire
trestle barrier situated at the far end of the bridge. One day in 1962 the East Germans moved the barrier to the middle of the bridge, despite protests from West German border guards and customs officials. The situation escalated when the East Germans warned that they would shoot anyone who touched the trestle and backed up their warning by emplacing machine guns and armoured cars on their side of the stream. The West Germans called up a BGS platoon and a British Army section to back them up. Owen called the East Germans' bluff by walking onto the bridge with two British soldiers and carrying the trestle back to the eastern side of the stream. He then stood by it for the next eight hours to make sure that it would not be moved again.
Tommy Jones, a former member of the Royal Military Police
special investigations branch, became well known as a guide for Western journalists and visitors to the inner German border. Although he escorted around 4,000-5,000 visitors a year along the border, he averred that he "never [got] frustrated. It is important to show people this border. It is impossible to imagine it or to describe it." Jones arrived in Germany in 1945 during the British advance to the Elbe in the closing months of the Second World War and remained there for the next 45 years. He joined the BFS in 1960, moved to Helmstedt in 1974 and became the head of the BFS in 1983, by which time it had only four personnel left. In January 1990, he was awarded an MBE and retired to become a Chelsea Pensioner
. His departure was noted not just by the West Germans with whom he had worked for so long, but by the East German border guards as well; as he put it, "For 16 years at Helmstedt, the East German border guards never spoke to me... All they did was take pictures of me from behind bushes. When the border was opened, suddenly the East German guards decided they wanted to try and shake my hand. But I didn't feel like shaking their hands."
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
between 1946 and 1991. Its personnel served on Germany's international borders with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
before focusing on the inner German border. It was charged with a number of tasks, including assisting the movements of British military personnel and their dependents, monitoring the border regions and helping to defuse border incidents. It was ultimately disbanded following German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
Establishment of the British Frontier Service
Following the end of the Second World War, British troops in Germany were deployed along the international borders of the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany to control the flow of refugees and prevent smuggling. They were replaced in 1946 by the Frontier Control Service, a civilian frontier force administered by the British Control Commission of Germany. It went through a series of names thereafter: the Frontier Control Service from 1946-49; the Frontier Inspection Service, 1949-55; and British Frontier Service, 1955-91.Many of its members were recruited from the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Its first director was a Royal Navy officer, Captain Guy Maund DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. It was under his leadership that the BFS adopted its distinctive naval-style uniform with silver rank badges. Its personnel were given honorary Army ranks, with its director given the rank of full colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
The BFS initially had 300 personnel, augmented by remaining personnel from the German customs service. Former German customs officials were released from prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps and put to work carrying out day-to-day border control duties, while the BFS concentrated on preventing illegal activities such as smuggling and unauthorised border crossings. For the first few years after the war it concentrated almost entirely on Germany's borders with Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, leaving the border of the Soviet occupation zone almost entirely unguarded. This changed after the Berlin Blockade
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
of 1948-49 and the increasing flow of illegal imports from the Soviet zone. The BFS and the newly established West German Zollgrenzdienst (Federal Customs Service) were deployed along what became the inner German border from Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
down to Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, a distance of some 660 kilometres (410.1 mi).
Changes to the role of the BFS
In 1955 the British Control Commission was wound up as sovereignty was passed from the Western Allies to the West German state. The BFS underwent drastic changes, passing from the jurisdiction of the British Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
to that of the War Office, later the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
(although it remained a civilian organisation). Its staff was reduced from around 300 personnel to 38, and it lost many of its executive responsibilities. A limited number of its staff worked on the eastern border but the majority worked at transit points as liaison with the German border authorities. They assisted with the movements of members of the British armed forces in Germany and their dependents, under the Status of Forces Agreement
Status of Forces Agreement
A status of forces agreement is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement...
with West Germany. The headquarters of the BFS was moved to Wahner Heider near Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
– now Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
– where it was administered as part of the Joint Services Liaison Organization. Its operations along the eastern border were administered from a regional headquarters at Hannover. Additional regional liaison offices were located in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and Helmstedt
Helmstedt
Helmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants . In former times the city was also called Helmstädt....
, near the main border crossing (Checkpoint Alpha) on the Hamburg-Berlin autobahn.
The BFS went through further changes in 1967, when it was established as a permanent Civil Service organisation. Its role changed again in 1972 following the signature of the Treaty on the Basis of Relations between East and West Germany, when the two states agreed to recognise each other. The British government took the view at this point that the United Kingdom was no longer responsible for the inner German border and considered eliminating the BFS altogether. However, it was decided that it would continue to have a very limited role on the border, chiefly involving conducting liaison with the German border agencies. It was reduced to 16 members with only the British Frontier Post at Helmstedt, manned by four personnel, remaining open. The BFS was finally dissolved on 28 May 1991, following the reunification of Germany.
BFS on the ground
Between 1955 and 1972, the BFS played a front-line role in managing tensions on the inner German border. Its officers were called to the scene of border incidents or unusual activity to defuse disputes and provide an independent British view of situations. They dealt with a wide variety of incidents ranging from escapes over the East German border fortifications, to intruding East German border markers, or attempts to block West German boats along the disputed river border on the ElbeElbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
. West German customs or Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz
Bundesgrenzschutz was the first federal police organization in Western Germany after World War II permitted by the Allied occupation authorities. In July 2005, the BGS was renamed Bundespolizei to reflect its transition to a multi-faceted police agency.It was established in 1951...
(BGS Federal Border Protection) personnel would deal directly with the East Germans with the BFS officer providing advice.
The BFS also assisted the British Army in carrying out patrols of the inner German border. Its personnel were a familiar sight, guiding units of the British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
(BAOR) along the southern sector of the British zone from Lauenburg to Schmidekopf. Although the BAOR did not patrol the much shorter northern sector from Lübeck to Lauenburg, the BFS filled the gap with occasional "visits". It presented a somewhat odd appearance, described by The Times as "delightful, perhaps unique":
Notable BFS personnel
Several BFS personnel were honoured for their work. Jack Owen, a BFS officer and former Royal Marine, was awarded an MBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1963 following a tense incident at Bohldamm near Lüchow
Lüchow
Lüchow is a city in northeastern Lower Saxony, in Germany. It is the seat of the Samtgemeinde Lüchow , and is the capital of the district Lüchow-Dannenberg. Situated approximately 13 km north of Salzwedel, Lüchow is located on the German Framework Road...
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. The border ran along a stream, but its precise location was disputed. The West Germans considered the far side of the stream to be the location of the border, while the East Germans regarded the border as lying in the middle of the stream. An overgrown cobbled footbridge crossed the stream but was blocked by the East Germans with a movable barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
trestle barrier situated at the far end of the bridge. One day in 1962 the East Germans moved the barrier to the middle of the bridge, despite protests from West German border guards and customs officials. The situation escalated when the East Germans warned that they would shoot anyone who touched the trestle and backed up their warning by emplacing machine guns and armoured cars on their side of the stream. The West Germans called up a BGS platoon and a British Army section to back them up. Owen called the East Germans' bluff by walking onto the bridge with two British soldiers and carrying the trestle back to the eastern side of the stream. He then stood by it for the next eight hours to make sure that it would not be moved again.
Tommy Jones, a former member of the Royal Military Police
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
special investigations branch, became well known as a guide for Western journalists and visitors to the inner German border. Although he escorted around 4,000-5,000 visitors a year along the border, he averred that he "never [got] frustrated. It is important to show people this border. It is impossible to imagine it or to describe it." Jones arrived in Germany in 1945 during the British advance to the Elbe in the closing months of the Second World War and remained there for the next 45 years. He joined the BFS in 1960, moved to Helmstedt in 1974 and became the head of the BFS in 1983, by which time it had only four personnel left. In January 1990, he was awarded an MBE and retired to become a Chelsea Pensioner
Chelsea pensioner
A Chelsea pensioner is an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London...
. His departure was noted not just by the West Germans with whom he had worked for so long, but by the East German border guards as well; as he put it, "For 16 years at Helmstedt, the East German border guards never spoke to me... All they did was take pictures of me from behind bushes. When the border was opened, suddenly the East German guards decided they wanted to try and shake my hand. But I didn't feel like shaking their hands."