WW II History Buffs

[Glasseye]

Any out there ?

 

Touring the Imperial War Museum, London was a real treat.

 

 

 

[coxyhog]

The RAF museum at Henlow is also pretty good.

[Butch]

I'm a big WW2 History buff, went to the IWM just after covid and did the holocaust Gallery which was pretty bloody sobering.

I love the place and it's on the Bakerloo line which is pretty old and kind of puts you in the mood. In fact my next trip to London will involve abandoned tube stations and the War rooms.

Where I used to live are the remains of a WW2 Airfield runway, also there are a few Anti Tank blocks on the local heath and plenty of local WW2 History.

[Horizondave]

There is also an Imperial War Museum in Manchester and at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire (a branch mainly committed to air power).

Edited March 1 by Horizondave

[Butch]

3 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

There is also an Imperial War Museum in Manchester and at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire (a branch mainly committed to air power).

Duxford is brilliant, but the food is hellishly expensive.

When I was there I walked through Concorde (never realised how tiny it actually was) and around the Comet. They've got a few decent displays of Warbirds and some restoration going on as well.

[Horizondave]

2 minutes ago, Butch said:

Duxford is brilliant, but the food is hellishly expensive.

When I was there I walked through Concorde (never realised how tiny it actually was) and around the Comet. They've got a few decent displays of Warbirds and some restoration going on as well.

Concorde was indeed small, I have been on that bird 3 times when it was operating. 

[galenkia]

46 minutes ago, Butch said:

I'm a big WW2 History buff, went to the IWM just after covid and did the holocaust Gallery which was pretty bloody sobering.

I love the place and it's on the Bakerloo line which is pretty old and kind of puts you in the mood. In fact my next trip to London will involve abandoned tube stations and the War rooms.

Where I used to live are the remains of a WW2 Airfield runway, also there are a few Anti Tank blocks on the local heath and plenty of local WW2 History.

I went to Dachau concentration camp with a mate about 25 years ago. We then went to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria after. Stayed in a small hotel next door to where Hitler’s summer house was.

There was a little museum underneath for guests only. And was another museum a short walk away for anyone.

Fucking sobering experience, the evil and cruelty that people can be coerced into is beyond words.

[Freee!!]

58 minutes ago, galenkia said:

I went to Dachau concentration camp with a mate about 25 years ago. We then went to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria after. Stayed in a small hotel next door to where Hitler’s summer house was.

There was a little museum underneath for guests only. And was another museum a short walk away for anyone.

Fucking sobering experience, the evil and cruelty that people can be coerced into is beyond words.

The only concentration camp I ever visited was Flossenburg (near Dachau, admiral Canaris was murdered there) and that was already enough for me. I intend to visit Auschwitz with my sons when they are old enough. 

From family history I was told my paternal grandfather (at the start) ended up in command of a group of soldiers somewhere in Friesland and his first order was to remove the bronze lions from the helmets. None of his superiors had noticed that those were both an excellent aiming point for the Germans and allowed the bullets to penetrate the helmets instead of glancing off.

 

Not really war related, but during the war:

Upon the news of the death of Dr. Willem Kolff, my mother told me her father (long dead by that time) assisted Dr. Kolff in the creation of the artificial kidney.

 

[galenkia]

7 minutes ago, Freee!! said:

The only concentration camp I ever visited was Flossenburg (near Dachau, admiral Canaris was murdered there) and that was already enough for me. I intend to visit Auschwitz with my sons when they are old enough. 

From family history I was told my paternal grandfather (at the start) ended up in command of a group of soldiers somewhere in Friesland and his first order was to remove the bronze lions from the helmets. None of his superiors had noticed that those were both an excellent aiming point for the Germans and allowed the bullets to penetrate the helmets instead of glancing off.

 

Not really war related, but during the war:

Upon the news of the death of Dr. Willem Kolff, my mother told me her father (long dead by that time) assisted Dr. Kolff in the creation of the artificial kidney.

 

When you go to a concentration camp, it really brings home the reality of those places.

You can watch TV programmes but it’s not the same as experiencing it for real. Can’t understand how people could just mass murder people because they are different from them.

[Butch]

1 hour ago, galenkia said:

When you go to a concentration camp, it really brings home the reality of those places.

You can watch TV programmes but it’s not the same as experiencing it for real. Can’t understand how people could just mass murder people because they are different from them.

Something that I realise now but didn't as a kid, was how a couple who lived across the road from us were very kind, but somewhat guarded. They took immense pride in themselves and their house, garden kept immaculate with the Man of the house, traditionally keeping it tip top. He never got the arse when our football went on his lawn or flowerbeds, unlike other neighbours who'd keep the football, or in one case, puncture it. They were both always very kind and thoughtful.

I remember my Mum telling me years later that they had both been in Concentration camps during the War, and were Jewish, met later on and married but never had kids.

What really made me think about them was that we used to play "war" in the street with wooden guns, one side Germans the other British. Only now I realise that it must have been quite painful for them to watch and hear.

[maipenrai]

6 hours ago, Horizondave said:

There is also an Imperial War Museum in Manchester and at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire (a branch mainly committed to air power).

I spent a day at Duxford in 2011 and really enjoyed it, although a day is not enough to really see it in depth and I had to hurry through parts of it; they also have  a hangar full of war vehicles that is well worth seeing. I think the highlights for me were the Concorde and the Lockheed SR-71.

As a historical footnote, my father spent six months during the war with the Canadian Army building Dunsford Aerodrome, where the BBC series "Top Gear" was filmed. His unit of the Royal Canadian Engineers controlled and operated all of the construction equipment in that theatre and went all over England and Scotland doing all kinds of civic and military works - they were assigned to different units for lodging and rations but were otherwise autonomous and had passes that enabled  them to go anywhere at any time. The entire unit was sent over to Europe shortly after D-Day and fought their way right into Germany by the end of the war. My father was on leave in Birmingham one day when he met my mother, who emigrated to Canada in 1949 to marry him. 

[Jambo]

22 hours ago, coxyhog said:

The RAF museum at Henlow is also pretty good.

I thought "Henlow" was a miss print when I first read your post as I was quite a regular visitor to the RAF museum in "Hendon" which was quite near to where I  lived in Finchley, North London.  I had to Google Henlow which I can now delete from my list of English Towns I have never heard of before.😉

I always had an affinity to this museum as I had an uncle who had been in the RAF. As a wee sprog I can recall having model  WW2 aeroplanes hanging down from my bedroom ceiling.

I recall my last visit to The Imperial War museum was the day before I made my first trip to Thailand. I stayed overnight in London and spent the afternoon in the museum. It was the first week in November and was a freakishly warm day.

 

[coxyhog]

10 minutes ago, Jambo said:

I thought "Henlow" was a miss print when I first read your post as I was quite a regular visitor to the RAF museum in "Hendon" which was quite near to where I  lived in Finchley, North London.  I had to Google Henlow which I can now delete from my list of English Towns I have never heard of before.😉

I always had an affinity to this museum as I had an uncle who had been in the RAF. As a wee sprog I can recall having model  WW2 aeroplanes hanging down from my bedroom ceiling.

I recall my last visit to The Imperial War museum was the day before I made my first trip to Thailand. I stayed overnight in London and spent the afternoon in the museum. It was the first week in November and was a freakishly warm day.

 

My mum & dad took me twice to the War museum when I was a kid & I last went there around 5 years ago with an old RAF mate.

Duxford is also a very interesting place,even when there's no display flying going on.

[Glasseye]

22 minutes ago, Jambo said:

I thought "Henlow" was a miss print when I first read your post as I was quite a regular visitor to the RAF museum in "Hendon" which was quite near to where I  lived in Finchley, North London.  I had to Google Henlow which I can now delete from my list of English Towns I have never heard of before.😉

I always had an affinity to this museum as I had an uncle who had been in the RAF. As a wee sprog I can recall having model  WW2 aeroplanes hanging down from my bedroom ceiling.

I recall my last visit to The Imperial War museum was the day before I made my first trip to Thailand. I stayed overnight in London and spent the afternoon in the museum. It was the first week in November and was a freakishly warm day.

 

 

I spent good part of a day there, back when I visited London.

 

I could easily do 2 or 3 days more.

If I had a "bucket list", that wish would be in the top 5.

[Bobbyg]

Went to Auschwitz and Birkenau some years back. The most sobering day of my life

[Stillearly]

The cemeteries in Kanchanaburi are worth a visit ( Don Rak and Chong Kai ) , as is Hell Fire pass , then is also a small museum next to Don Rak ( I wouldn't bother with the JEATH museum, I thought it was disappointing when I visited) 

I also visited the Taukkyan Cemetery in Burma back in 2015 when the country started opening up ... 

my Dads uncle was captured when Singapore fell and was part of the forced Labour , luckily he survived, the museum was able to give me loads of information we didn't have and the name of the camps he worked during that period 

My Grandad fought in Burma and was in the Chindits ( Wingate's Army ) , again he survived, so both these places were really interesting for me 

 

 

[Freee!!]

4 hours ago, Stillearly said:

The cemeteries in Kanchanaburi are worth a visit ( Don Rak and Chong Kai ) , as is Hell Fire pass , then is also a small museum next to Don Rak ( I wouldn't bother with the JEATH museum, I thought it was disappointing when I visited) 

I also visited the Taukkyan Cemetery in Burma back in 2015 when the country started opening up ... 

my Dads uncle was captured when Singapore fell and was part of the forced Labour , luckily he survived, the museum was able to give me loads of information we didn't have and the name of the camps he worked during that period 

My Grandad fought in Burma and was in the Chindits ( Wingate's Army ) , again he survived, so both these places were really interesting for me 

Thanks for reminding me, been there as well.

[Glasseye]

9 hours ago, Stillearly said:

The cemeteries in Kanchanaburi are worth a visit ( Don Rak and Chong Kai ) , as is Hell Fire pass , then is also a small museum next to Don Rak ( I wouldn't bother with the JEATH museum, I thought it was disappointing when I visited) 

I also visited the Taukkyan Cemetery in Burma back in 2015 when the country started opening up ... 

my Dads uncle was captured when Singapore fell and was part of the forced Labour , luckily he survived, the museum was able to give me loads of information we didn't have and the name of the camps he worked during that period 

My Grandad fought in Burma and was in the Chindits ( Wingate's Army ) , again he survived, so both these places were really interesting for me 

 

 

 

I would enjoy a journey up that way some day mate. You as a guide.

Hopefully we won't get locked up or our heads blown off.

[Mrmango]

On 3/1/2024 at 8:25 AM, Butch said:

Duxford is brilliant, but the food is hellishly expensive.

When I was there I walked through Concorde (never realised how tiny it actually was) and around the Comet. They've got a few decent displays of Warbirds and some restoration going on as well.

I have flown on the Concord a couple of times, and it is indeed tiny. I am a bit over 6 foot tall and I could not stand up entering it. It is very narrow also with 4 abreast seating in narrow seats and only about 100 seats - A small bird!

But it was the experience of a lifetime.

[SteveBC]

18 hours ago, Stillearly said:

The cemeteries in Kanchanaburi are worth a visit ( Don Rak and Chong Kai ) , as is Hell Fire pass , then is also a small museum next to Don Rak ( I wouldn't bother with the JEATH museum, I thought it was disappointing when I visited) 

A trip to Kanchanaburi, without visiting at least Hellfire Pass, would be a trip wasted........

Edited March 3 by SteveBC

[Glasseye]

 

[Toy Boy]

About 15 years ago, I did the Death March route in Bataan. First I visited Corregidor while in Manila, then headed up to AC for a week. While there, I hired a taxi and we drove down to Mariveles, then slowly retraced the route all the way back up to the monument at Tarlac, stopping off at anything interesting along the way. I did it at the same time of year as the real thing, in April when the sun gets directly overhead (Pattaya residents will understand the reason for choosing that date, lol), and it was bloody hot, even in an air-conditioned taxi. The intention was to head up to Camp O'Donnell the next day but the driver didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I ran out of time on that trip, but the next year I returned and found Camp O'Donnell in Capas. The driver the year before didn't have a clue what I meant as it's now called the Capas National Shrine. I'd intended completing the whole thing by heading across to San Fernando (if you want to know more about that then watch the excellent 2005 film 'The Great Raid') but again I ran out of time, and that's still on my to-do list. The problem with AC is that there are so many distractions...

I was surprised nobody was running tours to visit the route, but at that time there were lots of kidnappings going on, with many police road blocks on the peninsula, and it wasn't safe to be driving after dark. Doing it myself and piecemeal like that was quite expensive and time-consuming, but I'm glad I made the effort. The whole route from Mariveles up the Bataan peninsula has a special road marker every kilometre along it. 

[Glasseye]

7 minutes ago, Toy Boy said:

About 15 years ago, I did the Death March route in Bataan. First I visited Corregidor while in Manila, then headed up to AC for a week. While there, I hired a taxi and we drove down to Mariveles, then slowly retraced the route all the way back up to the monument at Tarlac, stopping off at anything interesting along the way. I did it at the same time of year as the real thing, in April when the sun gets directly overhead (Pattaya residents will understand the reason for choosing that date, lol), and it was bloody hot, even in an air-conditioned taxi. The intention was to head up to Camp O'Donnell the next day but the driver didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I ran out of time on that trip, but the next year I returned and found Camp O'Donnell in Capas. The driver the year before didn't have a clue what I meant as it's now called the Capas National Shrine. I'd intended completing the whole thing by heading across to San Fernando (if you want to know more about that then watch the excellent 2005 film 'The Great Raid') but again I ran out of time, and that's still on my to-do list. The problem with AC is that there are so many distractions...

I was surprised nobody was running tours to visit the route, but at that time there were lots of kidnappings going on, with many police road blocks on the peninsula, and it wasn't safe to be driving after dark. Doing it myself and piecemeal like that was quite expensive and time-consuming, but I'm glad I made the effort. The whole route from Mariveles up the Bataan peninsula has a special road marker every kilometre along it. 

Nice post.

 

What kind of distractions could you have possibly encountered in AC ?

lol

[Toy Boy]

21 hours ago, Glasseye said:

Nice post.

 

What kind of distractions could you have possibly encountered in AC ?

lol

Bird watching mostly, especially the tropical birds that have somehow lost all their plumage and engage in an exotic mating dance, lol.

[Glasseye]

1 minute ago, Toy Boy said:

Bird watching mostly, especially the tropical birds that have somehow lost all their plumage and engage in an exotic mating dance, lol.

🤪