The Ghost of RAF Laarbruch
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Re- Goch
We lived there on our first tour in 1981. I quite liked it there. Walking through the nearby Reichswald Forest, it isn't long before you came across the remains of the German trench system from 1945. On one walk, I found the rusting remains of a Canadian tin helmet. Others would find live ordinance. I remember when 2 German kids were killed near Kleve when they found an old German anti-tank mine
The Reichswald Forest is also home to the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany and is a beautifully tranquil and reflective place.
We lived there on our first tour in 1981. I quite liked it there. Walking through the nearby Reichswald Forest, it isn't long before you came across the remains of the German trench system from 1945. On one walk, I found the rusting remains of a Canadian tin helmet. Others would find live ordinance. I remember when 2 German kids were killed near Kleve when they found an old German anti-tank mine
The Reichswald Forest is also home to the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany and is a beautifully tranquil and reflective place.
Walking through the nearby Reichswald Forest, it isn't long before you came across the remains of the German trench system from 1945. On one walk, I found the rusting remains of a Canadian tin helmet. Others would find live ordinance. I remember when 2 German kids were killed near Kleve when they found an old German anti-tank mine
I too remember seeing remains of dugs-outs etc... never went prodding around too much as we were warned of unexploded ordanance etc. Also of the wild boars which are particularly ferocious when they have young with them
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Beagle,
Not too sure about that! I was told when I arrived in 1972 that the contractor got 25 years in the nick for deliberate fraud!
Laarbruch, like all the 'Clutch' stations, was built by the Germans as reparation for their actions during WW2. It cost the Brits (or NATO) nothing. The German government was, therefore, sorely embarrassed by the contractor's actions - hence his stiff sentence.
The ring road had to be a one way system because he'd even scrimped on tarmac!
Bloggs
Contractors made a nice little earner thanks to their 36/39.37 conversion ratio....allegedly!
Laarbruch, like all the 'Clutch' stations, was built by the Germans as reparation for their actions during WW2. It cost the Brits (or NATO) nothing. The German government was, therefore, sorely embarrassed by the contractor's actions - hence his stiff sentence.
The ring road had to be a one way system because he'd even scrimped on tarmac!
Bloggs
Fg Off Bloggs,
True. As a result, the rooms in the Officers' Mess accommodation blocks were sub-standard in terms of square footage and even 1st tour junior officers were allowed to have a 2nd room subject to availability.
True. As a result, the rooms in the Officers' Mess accommodation blocks were sub-standard in terms of square footage and even 1st tour junior officers were allowed to have a 2nd room subject to availability.
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Amazing station, but was shocked to see that the three-story flats in the AMQ patch in Weeze had all been knocked down to make way for new developments. Also what was the name of the epic ice cream bar near the cross roads in Weeze high street?
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Would that be the same, ever willing Willi who used to be a driver at Wilders before it closed, than moved to Laarbruch? What an utter gent - many a time he used to ferry us and all our duty free around the base and down to the hotel. He was there in the late '80s and when I came back to the FunBus some 4 years later he was still working as a driver. A bit older and greyer, but the same Willi!
A bit like the old 'Sons of Syd' we used to employ back in the '60s and '70s!
A bit like the old 'Sons of Syd' we used to employ back in the '60s and '70s!
It was Willie Cox believe it or not... And his trusty Merc 230d was KLE EP 80! He was there from 1982 to 1985 during my tour!! A real gent!
Always waited for his cab when in town as we always got let in through the gate without being stopped after hours! And he knew where we all lived as well for that odd occasion we had over imbibed!
Great days!!
And as spooky as Herman, this came through on a news feed this evening... https://www.forces.net/news/germany-...ates-centenary
Last edited by Champagne Anyone?; 31st Jul 2018 at 03:40.
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Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Chief Bottle Washer
Apologies for digging up such an old thread and, on the off chance you are still a member of the forum, but I'm looking into ghosts and paranormal activity at RAF airfields and in particular those that I have visited. I wondered if you might have the time to provide a little more detail on the comment you made above!
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Apologies for digging up such an old thread and, on the off chance you are still a member of the forum, but I'm looking into ghosts and paranormal activity at RAF airfields and in particular those that I have visited. I wondered if you might have the time to provide a little more detail on the comment you made above!
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
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Apologies for digging up such an old thread and, on the off chance you are still a member of the forum, but I'm looking into ghosts and paranormal activity at RAF airfields and in particular those that I have visited. I wondered if you might have the time to provide a little more detail on the comment you made above!
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
It always felt cold, I went down to do a jet one early thick misty morning when it was just starting to get light and as I approached the HAS I heard the rapid little feet noise and the squeal of wild boar coming towards me, I legged it inside and called for help, after they were dealt with and scared off I was left on my own and cracking the HAS doors open the mist drifted in across the floor and it was creepy as hell.
Sitting in the cockpit as the light was starting to break in a Jag in an unusually cold HAS with the doors fully open and the mist rolling in covering the floor was something I always will remember.
The HAS I am talking about is directly under the R of Bruggen on the heading picture, there is a clear pic further down the page. It might have been HAS 45 but my memory fails me.
https://thefourprop.com/blogs/the-br...t-rafg-station
..
Last edited by NutLoose; 15th Feb 2023 at 09:02.
Thought police antagonist
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Apologies for digging up such an old thread and, on the off chance you are still a member of the forum, but I'm looking into ghosts and paranormal activity at RAF airfields and in particular those that I have visited. I wondered if you might have the time to provide a little more detail on the comment you made above!
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
Many thanks,
Fitz
NB - I did try and PM you but your inbox is full so I suspect you no longer frequent the forum.
For your info Lindholme had well documented sightings, Middleton St George (Teeside Airport) also noted for the same. Valley had Hangar 13, encountered that one, once, where unexplained events happened....also Dishforth and the former Clevelands GC hangar workshops / CFI's office area...encountered that once as well...now that was actually "disturbing " to put it mildly.
The Bruggen contractor was also well known although he does seem to have no fixed abode as they say....also rumoured to have been on 17's site.
As for wild boar....diligently guarding somewhere near 20 one day when we heard a rustling / crunching sound...looked around and there was Mum taking the family for a walk about....and getting nearer to us. At which point we decided to make a strategic retreat....the relatives were nice to eat, bit rich, but the live ones tended not to be so amiable.
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The one I nearly ran into, or was that the other way round, was a family group, it's bloody frightening when you hear them close by and obviously pissed off as I am invading "their territory". It amazed me how they got about as the woods were laced with barbed wire.
BTW we all used to lob the odd stones at the sensors in the sterile to give you lot something to do
BTW we all used to lob the odd stones at the sensors in the sterile to give you lot something to do
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The RAF Police at Bruggen were quite adept at shinning up trees as I recall. Oddly, the occasional boar I have met when wandering around in the wilds has always high tailed it at the first opportunity.
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To be fair, you're a bit spoilt for choice when it comes to the paranormal and RAF Stations....and it may help if you could list those you've visited.
For your info Lindholme had well documented sightings, Middleton St George (Teeside Airport) also noted for the same. Valley had Hangar 13, encountered that one, once, where unexplained events happened....also Dishforth and the former Clevelands GC hangar workshops / CFI's office area...encountered that once as well...now that was actually "disturbing " to put it mildly.
The Bruggen contractor was also well known although he does seem to have no fixed abode as they say....also rumoured to have been on 17's site.
As for wild boar....diligently guarding somewhere near 20 one day when we heard a rustling / crunching sound...looked around and there was Mum taking the family for a walk about....and getting nearer to us. At which point we decided to make a strategic retreat....the relatives were nice to eat, bit rich, but the live ones tended not to be so amiable.
For your info Lindholme had well documented sightings, Middleton St George (Teeside Airport) also noted for the same. Valley had Hangar 13, encountered that one, once, where unexplained events happened....also Dishforth and the former Clevelands GC hangar workshops / CFI's office area...encountered that once as well...now that was actually "disturbing " to put it mildly.
The Bruggen contractor was also well known although he does seem to have no fixed abode as they say....also rumoured to have been on 17's site.
As for wild boar....diligently guarding somewhere near 20 one day when we heard a rustling / crunching sound...looked around and there was Mum taking the family for a walk about....and getting nearer to us. At which point we decided to make a strategic retreat....the relatives were nice to eat, bit rich, but the live ones tended not to be so amiable.
Thanks all!
Re: Krystal n chips - Here's a list of the bases I've visited (Many of which appear to no longer be in service or indeed were, like Manston, civilian already when I was there):
Linton On Ouse
Laarbruch
Akrotiri
Sealand
Cranwell
Cosford
Duxford
Manston
Brize Norton
Henlow
Farnborough
Upper Heyford
Lakenheath
Mildenhall
I limited myself to Laarbruch in the original post as that was what the thread was about and due to Roger's comment. It was a bit of a long shot as it was a really old thread and it had been so long since he last posted. But if anyone has any spooky tales from any of the above that would be great to hear about!
I shot a young wild boar at Brüggen in c '76. There was a 'High Seat' off the longer road from 431MU to the Golf Course.I chose to shoot one of the several younger ones as the sow could be both tough and very fatty. Myself and the local Elmpt greengrocer skinned and jointed it. Delicious !
The Avro Lincoln at Cosford is rumoured to be haunted.
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No one is sure why the Avro Lincoln bomber, serial number RF398, should be haunted. The Avro Lincoln was first flown on 9th June 1944, it was to be the last piston-engined bomber to serve with the Royal Air Force. Entering into service to late to take part in the Second World War the Avro Lincoln did see combat in two colonial insurgencies in the 1950s, the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and the Malayan Emergency, before being phased out of service with the Royal Air Force. The Avro Lincoln saw limited service with Canada, Australia and Argentina until 1967; others were converted to tankers for inflight refuelling and transporters.
RAF Cosford - Avro Lincoln B2, RF398.An Avro Lincoln B2, RF398 forms part of the 'War Planes' collection at RAF Cosford where it arrived for 'storage' in the late summer of 1968. RF398 first flew on 11th September 1945, but, following a large number of modification did not reach a flying unit (Bomber Command Bombing School) until 1952, nearly two years after the withdrawal of Avro Lincoln's from frontline service. On the 30th April 1963 Flt Lt John Langley flew RF398 on the penultimate RAF Lincoln Flight from RAF Watton to RAF Henlow for storage for the RAF Museum. Touching down at 15:25 the final flight closed RF398's career of 1043.05 flying hours and 792 landings.
The first account of ghostly activity occurred in 1979 when two engineers were restoring the aircraft. One of them claims to have seen a figure approaching the bomber, who then mysteriously disappeared as he turned towards it. The second engineer was busy at work in the cockpit area of the aircraft at the time and there was no possibility of anyone else having been in the hangar at the time. The following day the same two men found aircraft parts underneath the Lincoln which had not been there the night before, they were the last to leave the building and the first to arrive in the morning.
RAF Cosford - Avro Lincoln B2, RF398. (Neil Tipton).In 1980 as the hangar was being locked for the night the member of staff saw someone move in the shadows close to the old aircraft, switching the hangar lights back on he searched high and low for the intruder but to no avail. No sooner had he switched the lights off again, plunging the cavernous building back into darkness, than a "cloudy thing" appeared! Later that same week a mechanic was working alone on the RF398, feeling around for a spanner that had just fallen he felt it thrust into his hand!
Since those first encounters a number of people have reported seeing an airman in battle dress in the hangar and some have reported seeing a head in a flying helmet in the observation dome of the aircraft. Other happenings include the movement of objects, temperature variations inside the aircraft and the sound of footsteps in the vicinity of the aircraft. One visitor to the museum in 1980 reported seeing a fair haired man in a white polo neck sweater and forage cap seated in the cockpit of the plane. In 1984, the phantom pilot was even spotted by a cameraman working on an edition of the T.V. programme 'Wish You Were Here'! In 1991 a BBC team, ('Strange Stories: The Haunting Of RF398' - first broadcast BBC Radio 4 16th February 1991), investigated reports of mysterious goings on around the Lincoln during which they managed to record some of the spooky sounds that had been heard in the hangar. More recently the secretary to the museum society was busy preparing a notice board about the Avro Lincoln when she heard her name being called. Thinking it was one of the museum staff calling her she looked first toward the Lincoln and then toward the door but saw no one. Naturally, to this day she will not enter the hangar alone.
RAF Cosford - A Messerschmitt Me 163 in front of RF398.Perhaps the most amazing encounter occurred when an electrician, working fifteen feet above the hangar floor, when he suddenly fell. As he tumbled downwards he remembers thinking "this is it" because he had already injured his spine in a similar fall from another aeroplane. But instead of hitting the concrete floor with expected force he floated to a stop "as if", he said, "some invisible force had prevented his fall from being fatal".
Researcher Ivan Spenceley, along with members of the Chesterfield Paranormal Research Group, investigated the haunting in 1987. On this occasion a tape machine was left recording inside the Lincoln whilst the investigators departed from the hangar ensuring nobody remained behind. When they returned some 40minutes later they found the perspex lid of the tape machine lifted, the two reels removed and the tape spread about the cockpit like spaghetti! Over the next 4 year Spenceley visited Cosford and FR398 some twenty times amking a number of recordings of muffled voices, droning engines, tappings and rappings. (Recordings that were to be the basis for the aforementioned BBC documentary). More recently doubts have been cast upon the recordings and investigation made by Ivan Spenceley, veteran researcher and founder of the Chesterfield Paranormal Research Bureau, Michael Hicklin stated that Spenceley's claims "were entirely fraudulent."
Following the BBC programme of 1991 permission for further investigations by individuals and groups were declined. This however has not stopped odd encounters - In March of 2002 a Security Guard at the museum experienced 'something strange' in the vicinity of RF398. Many people have taken a great interest in the ghost; spiritualists claim the phantom sings to them, others that he is a wartime airman taking up residence in the peacetime aircraft. Could it be the ghost of Master Pilot Hiller who loved the aircraft saying on his last flight that he would "haunt his baby". Hiller was unfortunately killed near Cosford in an air crash.
https://office23.jimdofree.com/forte...ting-of-rf398/
RAF Cosford - Avro Lincoln B2, RF398.An Avro Lincoln B2, RF398 forms part of the 'War Planes' collection at RAF Cosford where it arrived for 'storage' in the late summer of 1968. RF398 first flew on 11th September 1945, but, following a large number of modification did not reach a flying unit (Bomber Command Bombing School) until 1952, nearly two years after the withdrawal of Avro Lincoln's from frontline service. On the 30th April 1963 Flt Lt John Langley flew RF398 on the penultimate RAF Lincoln Flight from RAF Watton to RAF Henlow for storage for the RAF Museum. Touching down at 15:25 the final flight closed RF398's career of 1043.05 flying hours and 792 landings.The first account of ghostly activity occurred in 1979 when two engineers were restoring the aircraft. One of them claims to have seen a figure approaching the bomber, who then mysteriously disappeared as he turned towards it. The second engineer was busy at work in the cockpit area of the aircraft at the time and there was no possibility of anyone else having been in the hangar at the time. The following day the same two men found aircraft parts underneath the Lincoln which had not been there the night before, they were the last to leave the building and the first to arrive in the morning.
RAF Cosford - Avro Lincoln B2, RF398. (Neil Tipton).In 1980 as the hangar was being locked for the night the member of staff saw someone move in the shadows close to the old aircraft, switching the hangar lights back on he searched high and low for the intruder but to no avail. No sooner had he switched the lights off again, plunging the cavernous building back into darkness, than a "cloudy thing" appeared! Later that same week a mechanic was working alone on the RF398, feeling around for a spanner that had just fallen he felt it thrust into his hand!Since those first encounters a number of people have reported seeing an airman in battle dress in the hangar and some have reported seeing a head in a flying helmet in the observation dome of the aircraft. Other happenings include the movement of objects, temperature variations inside the aircraft and the sound of footsteps in the vicinity of the aircraft. One visitor to the museum in 1980 reported seeing a fair haired man in a white polo neck sweater and forage cap seated in the cockpit of the plane. In 1984, the phantom pilot was even spotted by a cameraman working on an edition of the T.V. programme 'Wish You Were Here'! In 1991 a BBC team, ('Strange Stories: The Haunting Of RF398' - first broadcast BBC Radio 4 16th February 1991), investigated reports of mysterious goings on around the Lincoln during which they managed to record some of the spooky sounds that had been heard in the hangar. More recently the secretary to the museum society was busy preparing a notice board about the Avro Lincoln when she heard her name being called. Thinking it was one of the museum staff calling her she looked first toward the Lincoln and then toward the door but saw no one. Naturally, to this day she will not enter the hangar alone.
RAF Cosford - A Messerschmitt Me 163 in front of RF398.Perhaps the most amazing encounter occurred when an electrician, working fifteen feet above the hangar floor, when he suddenly fell. As he tumbled downwards he remembers thinking "this is it" because he had already injured his spine in a similar fall from another aeroplane. But instead of hitting the concrete floor with expected force he floated to a stop "as if", he said, "some invisible force had prevented his fall from being fatal".Researcher Ivan Spenceley, along with members of the Chesterfield Paranormal Research Group, investigated the haunting in 1987. On this occasion a tape machine was left recording inside the Lincoln whilst the investigators departed from the hangar ensuring nobody remained behind. When they returned some 40minutes later they found the perspex lid of the tape machine lifted, the two reels removed and the tape spread about the cockpit like spaghetti! Over the next 4 year Spenceley visited Cosford and FR398 some twenty times amking a number of recordings of muffled voices, droning engines, tappings and rappings. (Recordings that were to be the basis for the aforementioned BBC documentary). More recently doubts have been cast upon the recordings and investigation made by Ivan Spenceley, veteran researcher and founder of the Chesterfield Paranormal Research Bureau, Michael Hicklin stated that Spenceley's claims "were entirely fraudulent."
Following the BBC programme of 1991 permission for further investigations by individuals and groups were declined. This however has not stopped odd encounters - In March of 2002 a Security Guard at the museum experienced 'something strange' in the vicinity of RF398. Many people have taken a great interest in the ghost; spiritualists claim the phantom sings to them, others that he is a wartime airman taking up residence in the peacetime aircraft. Could it be the ghost of Master Pilot Hiller who loved the aircraft saying on his last flight that he would "haunt his baby". Hiller was unfortunately killed near Cosford in an air crash.
https://office23.jimdofree.com/forte...ting-of-rf398/