Ex - US Army Hospital Devon

[TuningHouse]

Thanks for your comments

Apparently its a lot of Willies Jeeps, ansd Bikes (Harleys i imagine).

Im not too sure on getting the image up on FlashEarth, always comes up as blurred for some reason. But i can give you the details via PM and then circle the Mortuary, if you would like

 

[Evilgenius]

Mortuary where!? We went down there last weekend and thought we covered all of it, maybe not!
It is a fair size site and alot of the rooms do look the same so might of missed it, i feel another trip coming!

 

[Cuban B.]

A nicely decayed site, surprised to see so much left behind since it used to be an army base.

 

[Scotty]

A nicely decayed site, surprised to see so much left behind since it used to be an army base.

army base was years ago (over 50 i bet now).

it was a army base 1st then a polish site for the 2nd WW.

this site been plastard all over the forums for about a year now and new bits are still be found/opened up.

keep meaning to get back. been almost a year since i've been.

 

[sheep21]

cracking site with so much to see! Alot of good photos too (the more the better IMHO!). Thans for sharing a unique site with such a rich history.

 

[TuningHouse]

As you drive up the road, mortuary is last building on the left (open door!!) so possibly not alot left, and wrecked.

I need to find another place this weekend, i have the bug haha. Anyone know any others around Exeter ish ? (They could email me to keep it on topic if they prefer - i would be muchly chuffed)

Cheers again for the coments

 

[Philip]

All of the american bikes, Jeeps etc were crated and buried

Over the years I've heard this story loads of times relating to ex WW2 bases,but tbh find it fairely unlikely. Why? Has any one had to bury a pet? What size hole a small dog-a helluva lot bigger than youd suppose !
So now we are meant to believe that rows of lorries/jeeps/aircraft are buried in pits ? Why go to the trouble and expense? After all the Cold War was starting,France was fighting in Viet Nam,so its not as if wars were over!
However love to be proved wrong

Forgot to say-great report

 

[TuningHouse]

I totally agree, i would love to believe it myself, no matter who told me. I know the expense of moving trucks etc, was out of this world in a country in severe debt after WWII, but i mean these stories have been going around for years - even where i used to do motorcross about 10miles from this site, apparently they stopped everyone as they were digging up the dirt, and what lay beneath ????? Only a load of crated jeeps haha - really ?

 

[Badoosh]

All of the american bikes, Jeeps etc were crated and buried

Over the years I've heard this story loads of times relating to ex WW2 bases,but tbh find it fairely unlikely. Why? Has any one had to bury a pet? What size hole a small dog-a helluva lot bigger than youd suppose !
So now we are meant to believe that rows of lorries/jeeps/aircraft are buried in pits ? Why go to the trouble and expense? After all the Cold War was starting,France was fighting in Viet Nam,so its not as if wars were over!
However love to be proved wrong

Forgot to say-great report

I think we'd all like to be proved wrong, maybe one day a lone guy with a metal detector may provide the answer. On the subject of expense, it's a hell of a lot cheaper to bury the stuff, or relocate within the UK rather than ship it back. There would certainly be no aircraft but vehicles & equipment, possibly. With Vietnam, just look back & see how much was left over there. Until someone "accidentally" unearths a Willy's jeep or whatever though, we shall never know. Which reminds me....i need a new spade!

 

[Mad Doc]

hi
do you know when it is being palled down? i love the place and have done so many photos of it. i may have to go for one last visit.

 

[escortmad79]

All of the american bikes, Jeeps etc were crated and buried

Over the years I've heard this story loads of times relating to ex WW2 bases,but tbh find it fairely unlikely. Why? Has any one had to bury a pet? What size hole a small dog-a helluva lot bigger than youd suppose !
So now we are meant to believe that rows of lorries/jeeps/aircraft are buried in pits ? Why go to the trouble and expense? After all the Cold War was starting,France was fighting in Viet Nam,so its not as if wars were over!
However love to be proved wrong

Forgot to say-great report

It is quite feasible that it happened, it certainly happened with traction engines & steam wagons.

Used to have a list of engines that had been buried over the years but lost it a few years ago.

In recent years a few have been unearthed after being buried for 70+ years over in New Zealand.

End of their working life so they were simply tipped into a pit & covered over so this could be a possibility

 

[skittles]

'All of the american bikes, Jeeps etc were crated and buried in the surrounding fields'

Is this fact or myth?

What does 'a great big "order" placed on them to prevent digging.' mean?

 

[kernowexpeditionary]

i heard of many such tails.... although surely with vehicles, steel etc in such short supply just after the war then it wouldnt be wasted?

 

[simaving]

Ex army hospital devon

All of the american bikes, Jeeps etc were crated and buried

Over the years I've heard this story loads of times relating to ex WW2 bases,but tbh find it fairely unlikely. Why? Has any one had to bury a pet? What size hole a small dog-a helluva lot bigger than youd suppose !
So now we are meant to believe that rows of lorries/jeeps/aircraft are buried in pits ? Why go to the trouble and expense? After all the Cold War was starting,France was fighting in Viet Nam,so its not as if wars were over!
However love to be proved wrong

Forgot to say-great report

Seems I'm not only one who thinks this could be just an urban myth.After all there was enough american load carrying ordnance returning home post war to shift a few jeeps and bikes.... And If there was a ridiculous amount left that was uneconomical to ship back surely sumat would have been unearthed by now? I have heard tales of auctions at end of ww2 where crated American ordnance was bought,this sounds more plausible to me dunno what everyone elses opinion is,cheers simon

 

[Scotty]

i heard of many such tails.... although surely with vehicles, steel etc in such short supply just after the war then it wouldnt be wasted?

I was thinking that.

there has also been a lot of building work in the serrounding areas so something would have been dug up 'if' there was something there.

I think they would have housed them next to the great SSR rather than digging a big hole.

 

[TuningHouse]

Right they are pulling down the buildings THIS YEAR, the only thing slowing it down its the bats return to the buildings at the top. If they return now, as planned - the destruction wont commence until they leave for the winter (back to the chudleigh caves), if they do not return or are scared off - the destruction will commence asap.
They have already started converting the two buildings - and have nearly finished, so there are builders present on weekdays, up at the rear of the site.

When i say "order i mean!, the government (MOD) placed a "area of conservation" (or likewise) order on land that alledgedly has these crates underneath. To prevent tresspassers, and general digging up. I would love to see what happens during the knock down, to prevent the JCB's from turning it all over. I imagine they will shut the gates and prevent access to everyone at all times.

After the war steel would have been in short supply, but the machinery was US owned, on US granted land, and they were probably thinking - we have just had 2 world wars, when is the next one coming. Lets leave vehicles here, incase we need to come back over and use them. Plus we are forgetting, USA decision makers have and always will be ........... odd

 

[missfish]

Wheelchair and sofa shot is awesome!

 

[smiffy]

After the war steel would have been in short supply, but the machinery was US owned, on US granted land, and they were probably thinking - we have just had 2 world wars, when is the next one coming. Lets leave vehicles here, incase we need to come back over and use them. Plus we are forgetting, USA decision makers have and always will be ........... odd

Oh yeah I can think of no possible better way to preserve and keep something ready for future use other than burying it........
Get real fer christ sakes......
Besides..... .. under the agreed terms and conditions of LeaseLend NONE of the material of war (meaning ANYTHING they supplied us with basically ) could be returned to the USA and ALL of it had to paid for by the British Governement.........therefore anything left over after the war belonged to the UK and was ours to dispose of not the Americans anyway and that included equipment still in US camps or not yet issued from supply bases....
.......thats how and why thousands of trucks / jeeps etc etc etc etc ended up being sold off to private buyers...( 'Ruddington was just one of the places that thousands of trucks / jeeps etc were sold off from.........locally to me the US bases did a roaring trade on 'back door sales' to the public in the immediate months after the war was over)
.....My Granddad made a damn good living out of buying and selling ex- military (British and US) equipment after the war and he would have definately scoffed at anyone suggesting that 'saleable' gear was 'buried'............ besides...........our Government of the day was so desperate for hard cash they would have dug the stuff up themselves to sell it on if this myth had been at all true ..
...The only thing that he ever said he saw deliberately dumped was ammunition...
..Trucks and Jeeps etc buried????
Bought and scrapped by the thousands maybe ........or .......more likely....bought and sold off to private users maybe .................but just buried and left ????
This hoary old tale is just summat that has been naively repeated over the years cos its a nice story and gets folk all excited at the thought of all those glistening gleaming jeeps still in their crates just waiting for you to find ..........
No way sorry.. I ain't buying that myth 'til someone digs a load of them up and if that was gonna happen it would have happened before now especially with a restored Jeep being worth anything from £10 to £20 grand...........

 

[escortmad79]

They have already started converting the two buildings - and have nearly finished, so there are builders present on weekdays, up at the rear of the site.

Which buildings are being converted? The two new bits?

Which areas are the builders working on? The new buildings, the huts along by the fence running down to Trago, the golf course side or the central compound where the school etc is in?

 

[TuningHouse]

the two ones that are being converted for the bats, are up by the new Polish Home - by a massive gate. Only way i can describe it is to say they are the furthest away from the entrance to the site

And Smiffy, yes haha