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MARCH 2019
COMMUNITY NEWS
BFG
THIS
MONTH
TAX FREE SHOPPING
NOTICE
5
The monthly BFG community
update includes:
- Need to know information
- Community news
- What’s on in the local area
NORTH GERMAN COAST
TAX FREE SHOPPING
Changes to the Local Purchase Orders (Mehrwertsteuer (MwSt) Form)
Due to the drawdown of BFG, all new BFG Local Purchase Orders (MwSt Forms) will
only be valid for 1 month, as all forms must be accounted for upon closure. This
new rule came into effect from 1st February 2019 and does not affect any forms
issued prior to February 2019 with a 6 month validity. Your unused or expired
forms can be renewed for free prior to the expiry date. All unused forms must be
returned to your Central Official Procurement Agency (MwSt Office)
before you leave Germany. You are still able to purchase up to
5 forms at any one time. Please note that this applies to
everyone in BFG.
Resettlement Centre
Germany Closure
The Resettlement Centre in Germany will close for business on 20th March 2019, from that date all
Service leavers will be supported by a UK Resettlement Centre. Those already in Resettlement will
have their CTP files transferred electronically; anyone with a query can call their new Consultant,
or Regional Resettlement Centre Catterick which is taking on all the Overseas and Germany
Service leavers:
Phone: 01748 872930
Mil. Phone: 94731 2930
Email: rrccatterick@ctp.org.uk
All the UK Resettlement Centres can be found on the CTP website:
https://www.ctp.org.uk/contact-us
Anyone coming new to Resettlement will be supported by the IERO as usual, Raswella Warburton,
at 41 AEC. If required, the IERO can request further Career Transition Workshops (CTWs) in
Sennelager after the closure of the Resettlement Centre.
Note from Commander BFG
Brigadier Richard Clements
Commander
British Forces Germany
elcome to the March 2019 edition of ‘BFG This Month’.
In this edition of ‘BFG This Month’ we have a round up of the
wonderful experiences that the children from schools across BFG
had on the school skiing trips. It looks like the children had a fun
time and they will have learned a lot from their time away. We also
have a full report from the BFG Netball Team on their trip to Fiji in
December. Find out how the BFG community helped with donations
and fundraising and see what the ladies got up to!
This month’s ‘Need to Know’ information focusses on the changes to
your tax-free forms provision and also alternative arrangements for
resettlement after the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) Germany
closes later this month.
In January, all Dependant employees were handed their termination
notices. On the back page we have included a round up of the main
points discussed.
In addition, in your Rebasing and Drawdown Bulletin this month we
have covered ‘Transition to Life in the UK’ packed full of information
to help you start to prepare for your move back to the UK, as well
as reminding you of some of the great things about living in the UK.
I hope you are enjoying ‘BFG This Month’ and find it useful. My
team are keen to hear any feedback you may have – all comments
and suggestions are genuinely welcome! Please contact the BFG
Communications Team via email, scs@bfgnet.info, or you can send a
message to the BFGnet Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/BFGnet www.bfgnet.de
5
Hamburg
Germany’s second largest city and
one of the wealthiest, Hamburg, is a
bustling and modern port city. Water is
Padre’s Column a big part of Hamburg, there are canals
and bridges everywhere; allegedly
there are more bridges in Hamburg
than Amsterdam and Venice combined.
A tour from the water is highly
The Spirit of St Patrick recommended, as is a stroll around the
Alster Lake.
Sunday 17th March www.hamburg.com
Lübeck
St Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, is someone The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is a
UNESCO World heritage Centre, and
steeped with myth and legend. Each year on 17th March, for good reason - the city is steeped
in history. The most famous landmark
people across the world celebrate the life and legacy is Holstentor, (Holsten Gate) with its
two leaning towers. It has become the
of Ireland’s favourite Saint. Patrick was a humble and emblem of the city and can be seen on
gracious man – even though he gained the status of everything from towels and key rings to
marzipan, one of the other things this
a Bishop (the equivalent of a CEO today), he remained city is famous for.
www.luebeck-tourismus.de/
true to his Christian values. Throughout life he was
always humble, kind, loving and generous to everyone
Stralsund
he would meet. These noble qualities enabled him to win If you enjoy history and architecture
the affections of the Irish people. this is the city for you, with many of
the local shops and restaurants being
housed in old churches or medieval
buildings. Stralsund is a port, and one
According to the ‘Confessio’ of Patrick, when Patrick was of its docks is home to the ship Gorch
Fock, an old German sailboat that was
about 16, he was captured by Irish pirates from his home sunk and then brought up and used by
in Britain. From there he was taken as a slave to Ireland, the Russians after World War II.
www.stralsund.de/en
looking after sheep, cows and pigs on the hills of Slemish
in County Antrim. He lived there for six years before
escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a Rügen
cleric in France, he returned to northern and western Separated by the Bodden Strait and
reached by bridge or ferry, Rügen
Ireland, preaching and teaching the Christian faith. is Germany’s largest island. Rügen
Island is a place of relaxation and
In later life, he served as a bishop, founding religious scenic beauty, and it boasts an array
of gorgeous beaches and white chalk
communities across Ireland. By the seventh century, he cliffs. The Jasmund National park is
had already come to be revered as the patron saint of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and
has a tree top observation tower with
Ireland. amazing views.
www.ruegen.de
St Patrick reminds us that regardless of who we are,
Kiel
or who we become, if we remain true to the values we The port of Kiel is one of the most
uphold then we will win the affections of the people we versatile in northern Germany,
serving cargo and passengers alike,
serve – this is the spirit of St Patrick! May I encourage offering mini cruises to Denmark
and Scandinavia. Kiel is the capital of
you to be like Patrick: live a good life, be kind, be loving Schleswig-Holstein and the city centre
to all you meet. Never forget who you are or where is vibrant and spacious, but the long
shipbuilding and naval traditions are
you have come from. Perhaps as you celebrate this St evident throughout. Every year in June,
millions of visitors descend on the city
Patrick’s day, you too might take some time to celebrate for ‘Kieler Woche’, the annual sailing
regatta and now the biggest festival in
the good and noble values you uphold? northern Europe. This year’s event runs
from 22-30 June 2019.
https://www.kieler-woche.de/en/
For more details on other places to visit in northern Germany call into
your local HIVE and pick up the North German Coast guide.
COMMUNITY NEWS
BFG Netters’ Fundraising Trip to Fiji
In December 2018, twenty ladies from the BFG Netball community spent two weeks in Fiji. This trip idea had been
suggested by the ladies on their last sports tour in the summer of 2017, where after ‘a few too many sangrias’ Debs
Fairclough agreed to plan and arrange getting the ladies to and from Fiji. The trip was proving to be very difficult to
manifest, but after the news that one of their own BFG Netballers, Annie Wong Vakacegu, had sadly lost her battle
with cancer, the ladies were determined to work hard in Annie’s memory and raise money for both Macmillan
Cancer Support and various charities in Fiji.
There was a year of intense fundraising: BFBS interviews, 24 hour Netball-a-thon, curry nights, car boot sales,
garage sales, cake sales, raffles, yoga and a 100 kilometre walk in 24 hours - 23 hours and 55 minutes to be precise!
The BFG community was also asked for any donations that could be taken to the Fijian charities, and the team
received clothes, toys, books and bedding.
Saturday 1st December 2018 came around and twenty BFG Netballers set off on their very long jounrney to Fiji.
During their ten days there, they sorted out all the donations from the BFG Community and took them to the
following places: Dilkusha Children’s Home, Homes of Hope women’s shelter, St Christopher’s Orphanage, and
Raiwaqa village. Their collections and fundraising meant that €5734.92, around FJ$12,000, was provided to twelve
different charities in Fiji, including the Royal British Legion in Suva, the Disabled Society, Spinal Injury Assosciation
and St Giles Psychiatric Hospital.
During their trip, the BFG Netters were able to play some matches against local players: they played the Fijian
national team, a team of girls from the Raiwaqa village, and the wives and daughters of the Police Training School
Band. The climate and terrain was different than what they were used to, but the BFG ladies played their best in the
scorching heat and on a makeshift grass court in one case!
You can follow the full diary, written by Debs Fairclough, on BFGnet.de or through the following link:
https://bfgnet.de/bfg-noticeboard/
How did the BFG Community help? The BFG Welfare Fund and SSVC both gave a grant towards personal
€2856.58 was raised for contributions. Without those generous grants, the BFG Netballers would
Macmillan Cancer Support not have been able to achieve half of what they did due to financial
€5734.92 was rasied for constraints.
the charities in Fiji AWS provided a grant to cover tour clothing and of course provided a
and 86 MFO boxes of ‘big red bus’ to and from Frankfurt airport.
donations were collected Thanks to the following sponsors: Gullivers Sports Tours and Britannia
Lodge 843.
The following either donated to the charities in Fiji or provided the
opportunity to raise more through fundraising events: Grant & Green
Car Sales, NAAFI, Britannia Lodge 843, Royal British Legion Bielefeld,
Sparkasse Bank Sennelager, P&O Ferries, PRI Paderborn, PRI Gutersloh,
PRI Bielefeld, BFBS, Agility and EuroGroup, FCO Milton Keynes,
QM Bielefeld, Bielefeld Officers’ Mess, Bielefeld WO’s & Sgt’s Mess,
Attenborough School, Sennelager, Haig School, Gütersloh and the BFG
Community.SNOW MUCH FUN!
Many of the pupils in MOD Schools know that returning to school after their Christmas holidays can only mean one thing:
SKI TRIP!! Here we’ve got a little bit of information on all the trips the schools have been on so far, and you can check out
BFGnet.de and the BFG Facebook page for more information and further updates.
Bishopspark Primary School, Paderborn
‘On 13th January, 24 Year 3/4 children travelled down to Oetz, for a week of skiing in
Austria. The journey took 10 hours but it was worth it when we saw our hotel surrounded
by beautiful mountains and plenty of snow. The beginning of the week was very tiring for
the children. Not only did they have to walk around with heavy ski boots, they also had
to learn how to attach their skis and they spent a lot of time side stepping up a mountain.
However, by the end of the week all of the children were able to ski down the mountain
without falling over and they were able to turn. Some children even managed to go
through the ski park! All of the children had a very tiring but fantastic week on the slopes.
Not only did the children learn a new skill but they also developed independence and
showed a great attitude for trying new things and being away from home.’
Attenborough School, Sennelager
‘On 19th January, 27 children and 6 members of staff from Attenborough School set off
to Austria for their annual KS2 ski trip. We arrived at our hotel and the children quickly
set about unpacking their cases, organising their clothes and making sure they had
all their ski kit prepared for the following morning. The weather during the week was
phenomenal. We were gifted with a fresh snowfall and blue skies for the duration of our
stay! This made for excellent skiing conditions and our 27 beginner skiers were all scaling
the mountain by the end of the trip. Mr Cunningham, the trip leader, had been running
the trip for 10 years and was so impressed with the resilience and determination each
child showed towards the sport. By the end of the week, every single pupil managed to
conquer the routes that involved riding the chair lift, something he says that has never
happened before - well done Year 4! We hope you all continue to enjoy skiing in years
to come.’
John Buchan School, Sennelager
‘On 27th January 2019, John Buchan School took 19 pupils skiing in Alpendorf, Austria.
The pupils had a fantastic experience for a week, learning new skills and overcoming
new challenges. Everyday the pupils received expert tuition from a local ski school and
every evening the pupils enjoyed a range of entertainment including swimming, curling
and karaoke to name a few. The conditions for learning to ski were perfect for the whole
week, this ensured all the pupils were able to ski with confidence before the end of
the week, including the pupils who had never put on a pair of skis before. One of the
highlights of the week was on the final day, the downhill race which all pupils completed
and showed off all of their new skills learnt over the week.’
Bielefeld School, Bielefeld
From 24th February to 2nd March, 35 pupils from years 4, 5 and 6 at Bielefeld School went on their ski trip to St Veit, Austria,
accompanied by their super-cool teachers, Mrs Pond-Barrett, Mr Kerray, Mrs Graham, Mrs Goddard and Mr Crowley. This
trip was an opportunity for the children to learn new sports, as most of the children were beginner skiers, and they even
had the chance to try ice-curling with the Seigi Tours team! They were able to develop their new sport skills over the week,
whilst also developing their confidence, independence, and personal and social skills.
Haig School, Gütersloh
A combined trip for school years 4, 5 and 6 will be taking place from 10th March, where the pupils will be skiing for 5 days,
lead by Year 5 teacher Mr Coyne! Hopefully after their 10 hour long bus journey they’ll be ready and raring to go. You can
find more information and pictures online once the pupils have returned!
King’s School, Gütersloh
‘On 10th March 2019, 31 students and 4 staff members from King’s School will depart for Alpendorf in Austria for a week’s
skiing and activities with Siegi Tours. This trip has run for many years and it is with a sense of regret that this will be our
last one. With this in mind, the staff and students are committed to making this a trip to remember! With a mixed group
of beginners, intermediates and experts, the group will receive professional tuition from the Red White Red Ski School,
and lots of progress will be made with both staff and students championing our value ‘Keep Improving’, not least the
Headteacher who will supervise and learn with our beginners group, putting skis on for the first time! We look forward to
seeing all their progress! This is a popular trip with many students opting to attend year on year, and this year the school
is taking its biggest group yet. In addition to the skiing, the group will compete to milk the cow, ice-curling, nail knocking,
and karaoke; and will go swimming and toboganning. We look forward to hearing all about it on their return!’
Many thanks to Commander BFG and the
trustees of the Germany Sports Board for
supporting these ski events by providing the
coach travel to, from, and within the resorts. All
the children had such a great time!Ben Turner - Walking with the Wounded
In January 2019, Ben Turner (Headteacher, Haig School) completed a load
and drag challenge completing laps of 2km around Mansergh Barracks. On
alternate laps he carried a loaded Bergen (42kg) and then dragged a car
tyre. Classes from Haig School joined Ben for the laps throughout the day
and gave him support and encouragement (as well as the odd Haribo!). The
challenge was initiated because it links to the Haig 50 Challenges which
have been designed to get the most out of the final year of opening. One of
the challenges is to raise money for a charity and as the children have been
progressing through their challenges so enthusiastically, they have inspired
Ben to challenge himself too.
In total, 26km were covered on the day (14km dragging the tyre and 12km
carying the loaded Bergen) and in excess of £1,300 was raised for the
charity Walking with the Wounded. Haig School were thrilled to welcome
one of the charity’s founders, Simon Daglish, into the school to receive the
cheque and to hear about some of the adventures he has participated in to
rasie money for Walking with the Wounded.
Ben did a similar event in 2014 with 1 Reg RLC where he carried a 50kg
Bergen (111lbs) over 11 miles for the RBL on Remembrance Sunday.
The Just Giving site is still open for any further donations:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/benturnerloadanddrag
Boarding Schools Fair 2019
At the end of January, BFG hosted
a Boarding Schools Fair at 3
venues: 26 RA gym in Gütersloh,
John Buchan School’s gym in
Sennelager and NAAFI Families
Store in Sennelager. Over 40
boarding schools from the UK
turned up, speaking to prospective
pupils and parents about what
their school can offer and how they
can support military families. It was
a great event and wonderful for the
BFG community to see the range of
educational opportunites provided
for them.
Goodbye Girlguides!
Jo Goddard, known to the Rainbows as Buttercup, has volunteered with Girlguiding for 15 years and is currently the
District Commissioner for Bielefeld (and previously Gütersloh). Jo reopened the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides units
in 2013 when she arrived in Bielefeld, and has since discovered records of open units going back to 1947. On Friday
22nd February 2019, the Bielefeld units of Rainbows, Brownies and Guides closed with a big party for the 20 existing
members at Springolinos in Herford. It’s particularly poignant that the units close on this date, as within the Girlguiding
community this is known as World Thinking Day. Girlguiding is treasured in many communities because it provides a
space where girls can ‘have fun, adventure and the space to discover their potential’.
Discussing the closure of the units, Jo said ‘I have loved volunteering and it’s such a joy to see how the girls develop and
how much they enjoy the activities we provide! I’m really sad to have seen so many units close, and hope the girls can
continue to find new units wherever they move to. I want to give thanks to all the adult leaders who have volunteered
over the years, but particularly to Zoe Brind, who helps me with Rainbows, Sylvia Lane and Nikki Craig, who help with
Brownies, and Alison Bridges and Karen Oliveira who help with Guides.’
The 20 girls were given commemorative hoodies and badges in a special assembly at Bielefeld School. Thank you,
Buttercup!LSU Dependant Termination Brief In January, all dependant employees attended a brief where they received their termination pack and were reminded of the important information surrounding the termination of their working contracts. Here is a quick summary of the important points you need to know. Labour Supprt Units in Paderborn, Sennelager and Bielefeld (including Mansergh Barracks) will cease to exist from 31st December 2019. Reminder that all MOD Schools and DCYP settings will terminate 31st August 2019 and all other positions will terminate 31st December 2019. ANY EMPLOYEE, REGARDLESS OF TERMINATION DATE, DEPARTING PRIOR TO THEIR ALLOCATED TERMINATION DATE IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR TERMINATION NOTICE (RESIGNATION). MOD Schools employees remaining post 31st August 2019 may be offered short term contracts where vacancies exist commensurate with skill sets and where possible like for like grades. Those employees under notice for 31st December 2019, whose contracted duties cease prior to the termination date, will be re-employed within their current duty station in other business areas. Termination notification will generate gratuity where applicable. You are eligible for gratuity after two years’ service. Gratuity will be 1/3 of the average months’ salary based on the best pay over the last 3 year period for each complete year served and subject to NI contributions. Your gratuity will be payable 6-8 weeks after your departure. All dependant employees were handed a pack containing information on what you need to do on leaving your current employment, where to look for jobs in the UK, tips on CV writing, a questionnaire for those seeking further employment in Germany past 31st August 2019. There will be a pdf version of this pack made available on BFGnet.de and MODNET. You MUST identify your departure date and inform your line manager/LSU as soon as possible - please give as much notice as possible. Please contact your LSU if you have any questions or queries or visit https://bfgnet.de/employment/
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