YMCA on Autobahn!

Only recently joined this forum, but noticed, on browsing, that information was requested re YMCA "Windmill" on the Autobahn.
Link below should bring up a Postcard of it that i purchased whilst en-route to another camp back in the 50s.
Apologies if someone has already submitted same.
brrowe



https://2img.net/h/i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz306/brrowe/YMCAAUTOBAHN.jpg

brrowe wrote:

Apologies if someone has already submitted same.
brrowe

Your right. It has already been posted on the main site:

http://baor-locations.co.uk/autobahn.aspx

Mike

Nice post card though.

How did you get on with the Home Guard website Jim ?
I've had a more thorough dig around, it's full of interesting stuff.

brum

I had heard the old YMCA-Windmill had been demolished. What a shame.

Apart from anything else (150 years of history etc), it was an unique piece of architecture and quite "homey" as I recall. Remembering it I can smell the warm comforting aroma of coffee and tea and, in my memory at any rate, syrup....which is odd as I am pretty sure they didn't serve pancakes!!

I wasn't aware it was an actual windmill, although how that escaped me I have no idea. I mean, clearly it must have been. Who'd construct such an edifice alongside an autobahn if it, in fact, didn't pre-exist the autobahn and was at one time a working mill? But such distinctions rarely occurred to an 8-year old and later a 17-year old!

I do remember, as a 7 or 8 year old, travelling with my parents. I always had "Munk" with me....a Stieff chimpanzee handpuppet ("Munk, of course, being short for "monkey").

On one trip, we stopped at the Windmill enroute to where ever, had our meal and were quite some way down the autobahn when, horrors of horrors, I realized I didn't have Munk with me!!

Poor dad had to take the next exit, swing up around, and head back something like 100km to retrieve Munk.

Sure enough, as we entered the cafe part, a woman behind the counter grinned and said "Ah, I thought there might be a little boy looking for this!" and produced Munk! He and I were so pleased to be reunited!!!

brum wrote:

How did you get on with the Home Guard website Jim ?
I've had a more thorough dig around, it's full of interesting stuff.

brum

It's fantastic Brum, I've been getting lost in reading it, and I'm supposed to be working. LOL.

the windmill as i remember was demolished due to it being in a sad state ,too costly to renovate lets face it organisations like ymca etc didn't make big dollars out us underpaid squaddies