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Scottish Sun
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Inside abandoned British ghost town left at nature's mercy for a decade that looks just like a scene out of Walking Dead
The town was built during the height of Cold War APOCALYPSE NOW Inside abandoned British ghost town left at nature's mercy for a decade that looks just like a scene out of Walking Dead A YOUTUBER has discovered an eerie abandoned town which looks like a scene out of Walking Dead. The creepy abandoned community was once home to thousands of British soldiers but now it is slowly decaying with buildings falling apart. 4 The creepy town once houses thousands of British personnel Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 Houses remain untouched a decade on Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 Buildings could be worth millions if sold today Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 The explorer said the inside felt oddly cold despite warm weather outside Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer An entire village, with hundreds of enormous four-bedroom homes, a barrack-like apartment complex, sports facilities and even a gas station, has been frozen in time for more than ten years and is now being reclaimed by nature. The abandoned site looks like a typical British town, with many of the houses resembling English architecture and having their own garages, some of which are unlocked. But it is located in Germany and was built during the height of Cold War by the British government. JHQ Rheindahlen once housed up to 12,000 British personnel and their families between 1952 and 2013. read more on news DEATH RIDDLE Two murder probes as cops searching for missing man find someone else's body Colin Hodson, known online as the Bearded Explorer, said on his channel: "This place is so big it is pretty much its own city. "I cannot believe this whole estate is completely abandoned.' Wandering through the former town, which is now solely inhabited by red squirrels and deer, he compared it to being in a post-apocalyptic world where all human life has disappeared. The 376-hectare haunting site is hidden by the dense forest, making it almost impossible to spot in summer. During Colin's visit, the trees were bare, giving the audience an idea of what the garrison town would have looked like when it was inhabited. The properties in the ghost town would fetch millions of pounds if they were sold today. Although there is occasional evidence of graffiti and vandalism, the houses are mostly undamaged. But Colin noted that despite the warm weather, the eerie buildings were oddly chilly inside. Colin continued: 'This is actually incredible. This is probably the closest I've ever felt to be like walking around in The Walking Dead. "This is exactly what it would look like if the world ended everyone disappeared nature would just literally take over everything.' At its peak, the town had five British primary schools, a clothes shop, two post offices, a BP gas station and a NAAFI bookshop. Plans were created to renovate the town to accommodate asylum seekers after the British Army formally returned it to the German government in December 2013. But over a decade on, there has been little improvement. In 2015, a group of Arab businessmen put forth plans to turn the property into a leisure park, but it seems that those plans have since been shelved. The followers lamented the town's downfall, with many flooding to the comments. One person wrote: "What a waste, this is criminal letting all these good houses go to rack & ruin." Another one said: "This is very high quality accommodation and still in reasonable condition. "It probably wouldn't take too much to refurbish and either use as social housing, or just sell off." A third person added: "I lived there for over 6 years as my father was military. It was an absolutely brilliant place back in the day. So so sad to see it like this now." Colin only scratched the surface of the enormous territory and plans to return to the site to explore it further.
Daily Mirror
05-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Entire British ghost town left abandoned for over a decade as nature takes over
The huge town was built by the British government at the height of the Cold War but has been left abandoned since 2013. An urban explorer has revealed a forgotten town, completely hidden for over a decade and fast becoming over-run by the wilderness. Stretching across acres with sizeable four-bedroom houses, sporting facilities, and even its own filling station, JHQ Rheindahlen once hosted up to 12,000 British servicemen and their families until its doors closed in 2013. It was built by the Brits during the tense times of the Cold War, not on UK soil, but in Germany. Colin Hodson, from the Bearded Explorer YouTube channel who explored and filmed the ghostly location, was taken aback: "This place is so big it is pretty much its own city," he expressed. 'I cannot believe this whole estate is completely abandoned.'. He detailed his surreal exploration through the deserted town, which felt like stepping into a post-apocalyptic landscape without humans, the only signs of life being wildlife like deer and red squirrels, reports the Express. The vast site sprawls over 376 hectares, so densely covered in foliage that in summertime, houses would vanish from sight behind a sea of green. Colin's visit fell in a less leafy season, offering a clearer view and stirring the imagination of how bustling life here once was. Today's property market could see the buildings fetching millions, though placing a price on an entire ghost town proves more challenging. Though signs of vandalism are present, the site stands remarkably preserved. Colin revealed that despite balmy weather outside, a chill ran the houses within. "This is actually incredible," Colin exclaimed. "This is probably the closest I've ever felt to be like walking around in The Walking Dead. This is exactly what it would look like if the world ended everyone disappeared nature would just literally take over everything." Since the British Army officially returned the town to German hands in December 2013, there have been plans to transform it into accommodation for asylum seekers, yet a decade later, nothing has materialised. A group of Arab investors once put forward a vision in 2015 to turn the area into a leisure park, but it seems those plans have now crumbled. Another section of the complex is set to become a training ground for the North Rhein Westfalia police, where they can simulate hostage rescues and other scenarios as realistically as possible. The town bears a striking resemblance to any modern British or German town, with many homes boasting their own garages, some still under lock and key. In certain spots, trees have sprouted right in front of garage doors: "Some of these haven't been opened in a very very long time," Colin observed. Back in its prime, the site, then called JHQ Rheindahlen, was home to a NAAFI superstore, a BP petrol station, two post offices, a dress shop, and five British primary schools. Colin's set to return soon for another exploration into the vast site, but as for the ghostly town's future? That remains shrouded in mystery.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'It was all men. It got a bit boisterous': Britain's oldest female WWII veteran, 107, reveals how war ravaged nation celebrated VE Day
With a mixture of pride and sombre memories of wartime sacrifice, Britain's oldest surviving Second World War servicewoman today commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Joan Harrison, 107, is deaf and nearly blind, yet she clearly recalls the moment that the war came to an end, as she sat at the wheel of her Auxiliary Territorial Service ambulance. Newcastle-born Joan Brown, as she was then, had volunteered for war work at the outbreak of hostilities and quickly picked up the nickname, 'Brownie'. As news of Victory in Europe broke in the early evening, a serviceman came rushing towards the 22-year-old to tell her of the momentous good news. She recalled: 'Everything was still. Then, all of a sudden, he came running down the concrete path to the ambulance and said, "Brownie! The war is over!" 'I said he must be kidding. And he said, "No, the war's over!" 'I jumped out - I don't think I even locked it, which was a crime, and ran with him to the NAAFI [Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes] where everyone was gathering. 'Hats were flying in the air. It was all men. It got a bit boisterous, and some officers came down and called "order". 'The men calmed down. The officers were saying, you're still in the Army, you know, get to your beds. But they couldn't do much about the sheer joy of the moment.' Born in Portsmouth, Joan moved with her parents to Hong Kong at age 13. Her father, a Royal Navy admiralty engineer overseer, managed the harbour there. His work then took them north to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. When war broke out, Joan joined up with the women's regiment, the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), initially spending two years in civil defence before being sent to Camberley, in North-West Surrey. There, she trained for 18 months to become an ambulance driver and driving instructor for the ATS, including maintaining the vehicles, a role that would place her at the heart of the war effort. 'It was heavy work. We didn't have a choice. We had to be drivers because the men were needed elsewhere,' she added. At one point they were stationed in barracks in Edinburgh that were deemed unsuitable for the men because of the terrible conditions. She recalls: 'It was so awful, cold, wet and horrible. We slept in our great coats.' Joan is proud to have driven ATS ambulances, just like the late Queen Elizabeth. Reflecting on this period, Joan considers her time in the army as 'the best time of her life.' She was later stationed at Boyce Barracks, in Aldershot, a training centre for the Royal Army Medical Corps and it was there that she met Charlie Harrison, the man who would become her husband. After the war, they settled in the Midlands and although they tried to start a family, they were never able to have children. Instead, they formed a close bond with their nephew. Joan's vivid recollections of her time in the ATS have been recorded by two charities - the Women's Royal Army Corps Association and Legasee. The latter helps the public understand the impact of military activity and preserving the stories of veterans. Joan is confirmed as being four months older than Ena Collymore-Woodstock, OD, MBE, who is also 107 and lives in Barbados. The Jamaican was previously thought to be the oldest surviving female army veteran. Now residing at Posandane Nursing Home, near Penzance, in Cornwall, Joan, like all ATS women, was later supported by the ATS Old Comrades Association, which evolved into the WRAC Association. This servicewomen's charity continues to provide invaluable camaraderie and sisterhood to Joan and her fellow veterans to this day. Paula Rogers, CEO of the WRAC Association, said: 'It was wonderful to be invited to meet Joan and hear her wartime stories. We are privileged to count many ATS veterans within our Association, alongside women of all ages who have or are currently serving in any of His Majesty's Armed Forces. 'As we remember the sacrifices made during two world wars, other conflicts and in peacekeeping, we are hugely proud of the contribution women made to bringing about the end of WWII.'
