Report - RAF(H) Wegberg - Germany - July 2014

Love it. Brought back a few memories of living at RAF Munster.

Nice report. Something a bit different.

I could do with some of that block flooring !

Thanks for the upload, good to see some British camps instead of Russian ones coming out of Germany!

Derelict-UK said:

Thanks for the upload, good to see some British camps instead of Russian ones coming out of Germany!

Click to expand...

Cheers! There should be more becoming "available" in the future.

Cool, I stayed in a couple (one is now housing near the Berlin Olympic Stadium) back in the early 90's when I was a kid. The other was somewhere more central and I have a distinct memory of it having an American diner. I also remember getting a massive micro-machines playset from their toy shop! Times were good back then lol.

The second one did have a memorial garden a short walk from it, it would be good to see any memorials as well as the insides of places too.

Really like this, what's with the prison cell door in pic 16 dya reckon?

Awesome!

Derelict-UK said:

Cool, I stayed in a couple (one is now housing near the Berlin Olympic Stadium) back in the early 90's when I was a kid. The other was somewhere more central and I have a distinct memory of it having an American diner. I also remember getting a massive micro-machines playset from their toy shop! Times were good back then lol.

The second one did have a memorial garden a short walk from it, it would be good to see any memorials as well as the insides of places too.

Click to expand...

I do remember you putting some pictures up of the "Country Wall" and Berlin Wall and some other bits years ago, they were great!

The_Raw said:

Really like this, what's with the prison cell door in pic 16 dya reckon?

Click to expand...

I think it was probably just a store for something.

My sister was born there in 76, while i was at Kent School ( Also on the forums) great report

GREAT PHOTOSbut so sad to see how this wonderful hospital has decayed. So VERY sad. I was posted here about 9 months after it opened, circa Jan 1954. Couldn't believe my luck when I first arrived and found my quarters. Pristine condition; thoroughly clean and sparkling; great location. I was a mere admin/clerk/typist erk and worked upstairs in the medical records area. My boss was W/O Robinson, who was a fanatic sports chap, official RAF tennis coach. and fit as a flea. Food was good too! Probably the best in the whole of the RAF. Thanks so much for uploading all these photographs; would have loved to have strolled around with you but then again I'd have probably felt so miserable to see how this once great place had been ruined. OK, nothing lasts forever but it's such a shame that I'll never again smell the coffee from the cafeteria as I made my way for the morning cuppa there. Cheers.

Great to hear stories from people like you George, I'm sure Saul will be satisfied that his pictures matter to somebody for whom the place has some meaning as this is partially why we document these buildings

The_Raw said:

Great to hear stories from people like you George, I'm sure Saul will be satisfied that his pictures matter to somebody for whom the place has some meaning as this is partially why we document these buildings

Click to expand...

Thanks Raw. In 1985-ish I took a trip to Harwich, got on a boat to the Hook of Holland to replicate my journeys to and from Wegberg and Bruggen of some thirty years previously. Didn't have a passport but used one of those photo-cards that let you enter France, Holland etc., without the full passport. Bought a railway ticket at the Hook right through to Wegberg, no bother. However, when the train reached the border crossing at Venlo the police came through the train asking for passports. I showed my photo-card: "Vee need your PASSPORT! This card is no good" and with that I was marched off the train by two armed police and taken to an office on the Venlo rail station. I was told that the photo-card only covered ONE border crossing and I was told to return to UK. I explained that I just wanted a nostalgic visit to my old RAF station and I was asked if I could pay for a 24-hour 'visa'. Paid a few Deutsch marks and was issued with a green form with German stamps decorating it and was told to produce this on my return journey. Nobody bothered to board the train when I travelled back so I kept the 'Visa' and it's still one of my treasured bits of ephemera.

I had a wander around MunchenGladbach before getting the little train to Wegberg, enjoying a huge Bratwurst sausage in a roll bought from one of the kiosks in the town centre. So D E L I C I O U S that I can taste it now!

Arrived at the little rail station at Wegberg and had a beer in the station café. Wunderbar! Got a local taxi to the hospital, getting out of the taxi at the gates so that I could relish the stroll through to the main entrance. To say this was a marvellous walk through the grounds would be an under-statement.

Reported to the Adjutant who welcomed me as though I was a long-lost brother or something. Such a great chap, who gave me permission to visit any part of the place, except the WAAF'S quarters, (spoilsport). The first place I headed for was the superb little cafeteria where I bought a gorgeous black coffee and a sticky bun. I'd never had a better coffee, and never shall.

I must sound like a real old FART, rambling on about this RAF Hospital Wegberg, but it has a place in my heart that will never depart. Great place, wonderful people, deep memories of great fondness.

Cheers, George Harfleet

Thank you very much for the stories, George! It's always great to hear from people who were involved with the places we document.

Brought back some good memories... and some bad, especially one concerning one of the consulting rooms, a doctor with a large syringe and huge needle, and my left knee... twice!! It was meant to be 3 times but miraculously my knee felt much, much better after the 2nd jab