Originally Posted by
4mastacker
I've got a photo of one of the Gutersloh Pigs' Bar Gentlemans' Drinking Lounge murals somewhere amongst the junk in the loft. If I remember correctly, it was of the tramp in a reclining pose whilst he supped his ale.
A wooden frame was put round the mural to preserve it when NAAFI announced they were going to re-decorate the place. The mural was still there when I left in late 72.
The bar survived the Great Fire when the upstairs was gutted during refurbishment. In an attempt to save NAAFI stocks, human chains were formed to move the important stock out of the building. The beer crates were carried out and stacked up at the back of the building whilst the durables from the shop were carried out and put on the opposite side of the main drag. A lot of full beer crates made their way to various locations for "safe-keeping" where they were consumed to ensure the quality hadn't been affected by the fire.
Doesn't say much for NAAFI standards of stock-keeping when the NAAFI manageress declared that no stock was lost due to the fire.
Yes, the reclining tramp was one of the murals. If I remember rightly, there were three in the bar and a couple of others elsewhere in the building in rooms that were no longer public. The relocation was in 1975, IIRC, so the murals were still there then. The fire was before my time, but the stories of how the stock was 'saved' from the fire were still alive and well!