mushroomman,
When going through the Waidhaus border out of west Germany into Czech,did you ever see the photo on the wall in the German customs office of a German border policeman.
Apparently he was on duty one night and went down into the cellar of the building which was the document stores.When he didn’t reappear after some time,some one went to look for him and found his body,he’d been shot.
It was believed that some one from Czech had crept across the valley and got into the cellar on a spying mission,and was found by this young copper,and was shot dead by the intruder who was never traced.
Hi Ian,
I must admit that I hadn’t heard about that incident before but as soon as I had read your post then it reminded me of the large photograph that was in a frame which was hung up in the office where you did your paperwork.
The photo was of a fellow who I thought was wearing a West German customs uniform and in the bottom corner of the frame was a diagonal black ribbon which is a German custom to show that the person is deceased . I always thought that this person had been killed while on duty as it was in such a prominent position.
On a few occasions I was asked by the West German Police when I was coming back into the West, if I had seen any unusual military activity while I had been transiting The Commie Block. I presume that this also happened to you Ian and was anybody else asked this question ?.
B.T.W. did you ever feel a bit uneasy as you drove into The Eastern Block or was it just me being paranoid. 
Best regards Steve.
You weren’t the only one that felt that way, First time I went through that crossing I felt that I was in some old Cold War movie, Dark & wet, dogs growling, patrols in the trees,and me all on my own, great introduction to the workers paradise.
Dave.
Old wives tales by the sound of this one thats a new story who made that one up .I went through that border on a number of accasions if it was true I think I might have heard .tell me more where was the picture hanging .and describe the border layout at that time what year was it.
Roger Haywood
Made up story old wifes tale call it what you like i could read posts and reply like these for hours keep them coming
sinbin31:
Old wives tales by the sound of this one thats a new story who made that one up .I went through that border on a number of accasions if it was true I think I might have heard .tell me more where was the picture hanging .and describe the border layout at that time what year was it.Roger Haywood
I.I.R.C. between 1980-87 you walked up a couple of steps, you went through two glass doors straight into the customs hall. In front of you was a counter where you had your West German permit, carnet and your tankshein stamped. In the middle of the wall behind the counter hung the photo of the deceased customs man / policeman ?.
On the right hand side was another counter behind which was a large mirror and next to this was a door which was marked Politzi. The police who worked here always wore a badge on their sleeve which said Bundesgrenz…
A policeman would seem to appear from nowhere to see your passport and some times ask to see your tachograph. It was about four years after I had started using this border that on one occasion when I had been invited into the police office that I realised that this was a two way mirror. 
Below is taken from a website about the border in the 1950s.
ABSTRACT: REPORTER AT LARGE about goings on along the Czech-Bavarian border, near the small towns of Waidhaus and Eslarn. Conversation with border guards Jajet, at Waidhaus, & Georg Sommer, at Eslarn. Both told of border incidents provoked by the trigger-happy Czech guards who shoot at any moving thing inside their border, and even fire at the West German guards at night. Tells about the town of Eisendorf, whic had been razed to give the guards unobstructed view of the boundary; over a thousand people evacuated to the interior of Bohemia and the houses left standing were turned into fortresses. Description of obstructions built to prevent escapes; tells about escapes and near escapes by desperate people who tried to cross the border.
If I mentioned " The World Largest Zebra Crossing " on the motorway between Prague and Brno would anybody know what I am talking about ?.
Come on Roger you should, we were parked here for over five hours one sunny Friday afternoon. 
Regards Steve.
Is that what we used to call the Airfield.
Dave.
davemackie:
Is that what we used to call the Airfield.
Dave.
Got it in one Dave 
.
I only ever saw it being used once when they were having a Warsaw Pact exercise. I had been diverted onto the old road but I do remember seeing three Migs flying very low although I didn’t actually see them land. 
Best regards Steve.
Hi Steve
Blimey your memory is good did u make the tea or was it me as usual
Roger
sinbin31:
Hi SteveBlimey your memory is good did u make the tea or was it me as usual
Roger
I.I.R.C. Howard Hughes made the tea, you arrived about half an hour later after the Czech Police had " Lollypopped " you, fined you 200 ? Czech Krones for driving during the summer driving ban and parked you up until 8 p.m. but we all did a runner after about five hours.
RegardsSteve.
steve
what sort of tablets u on to remember that im sorry but I just dont remember
it but if u say it happened it must have ,Please post a pic so I can remember you it may jog the brain cells.
rgds Roger
The first time that I met you Roger I.I.R.C. ( notice that I use If I Remember Correctly as it was over twenty eight years ago so one or two details might not be exactly how you told them to me ) was on a Friday afternoon in Czechoslovakia when they used to have those silly summer driving bans on.
I always had trouble trying to work them out and was often not the only British driver to get caught out. 
I was following Howard Hughes and I think that the ban on that day was something like foreign trucks couldn’t drive between midday and 2 p.m. south of Prague on a Friday and 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. north of Brno.
On a Sunday it was between midday and 2 p.m. north of Brno and 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. south of Prague, or something like that.
However, when it got to 4 p.m. I asked Howard what he wanted to do knowing that if we got caught that we would be fined and parked up. Howard said that we should chance it as we were only a couple of hours north of Brno. At about ten past four as we approached that section of the motorway which they used as a military runway now and again, the police were there with their little lollypop and waved us into that big lay-by. As we were only ten minutes over we got away with a packet of Benson and Hedges bung and told to park up until 8 p.m.
Howard was an owner driver who pulled for Dow who you might remember was originally from London and used to live on a houseboat moored at Chelsea before moving up to Stockport.
After about half an hour you came along Roger and the police were quite excited to see you. They were not so lenient with you and fined you I think it was about 200 Czech Krones, I remember it was a lot of money even for Czech but they would not haggle, you were a bit miffed to say the least. The police left after about an hour and we sat there until about 6 p.m. when we all did a runner through to Bratislava with no more hassles. As Howard and myself had a different border on our carnet than you, we split up and went our different ways.
So contrary to my previous post we could not of been sat there for five hours, it probably only seemed like that long. 
So how can I prove that I am not making this up ?.
Well Roger during the afternoon you told me I.I.R.C. your stepfather was South African and he had recently died ?. He was in his seventies ?, and there was something about him coming home from the pub and being locked out so he got a step ladder and climbed up to the upstairs window where he got stuck and ?
Well I had better not go on but does this story sound familiar Roger ? It should be I am sure that you told it to me. I don’t mean to upset you in anyway and I will gladly delete it if you would like me to.
As regards Bestbooties incident about the West German customs man or policeman being killed, I have to say that I didn’t think of it as an old wives tale. Just because I haven’t heard it doesn’t mean that it isn’t true and there is no smoke with out fire as they say. It certainly reminded me about that photo of the dead person in the customs office. That’s one of the reasons why I keep posting these short stories, hoping that it will jog somebodies memory and they will reply with a similar story which will in turn have me driving down memory lane, or that dirt track with the big pot holes in it. 
You asked for a piccy Roger, well here’s one of Howard’s motor on the left taken a few years later.
Looking forward to reading about some of you adventures soon Roger so get typing.
Best regards Steve.
Steve
Its tru what u said but he wasnt my step dad just my Mums partner,yes I now have the brain cells starting to react but I wanted a picture of you not the trucks
will find you one of me and post it .yes I think the fine was about 100Dm which
was a lot in them days ,be lucky
roger
sinbin31:
SteveIts tru what u said but he wasnt my step dad just my Mums partner,yes I now have the brain cells starting to react but I wanted a picture of you not the trucks
will find you one of me and post it .yes I think the fine was about 100Dm which
was a lot in them days ,be luckyroger
Here ya go Roger.
The Mushroom Lady and myself ( I was the one wearing the shades 
) on the Bosphorus Ferry going towards The Harem.
Wait a minute who’s that pirate looking fellow from Astran on the right , could it be John Bruce, he got everywhere.
Photography by Peter The Plater. ( Sorry I cant find a smiley with a big tongue ).
steve
great pic J Bruce looking good cant say the same for you me below just so
you rember me
Roger
Dont tell me, the Turk police have had the shirt of your back again. 
Hi Steve, (MM) and Ian (bestbooties), well, I finally got round to working out how to drive the Scanner / copier that Santa brought me…do you recognise this face■■?..
Stan Warmbold,in the middle of the pic, flat cap and all!! … taken in Blackpool (of all places ) xmas 2001.
Thanks for the stories about him Steve, wish I had met him. Will keep on at the wife to get onto the family for his pictures, he must have some somewhere!!
bullitt:
Hi Steve, (MM) and Ian (bestbooties), well, I finally got round to working out how to drive the Scanner / copier that Santa brought me…do you recognise this face■■?..
Stan Warmbold,in the middle of the pic, flat cap and all!!
Thanks for the stories about him Steve, wish I had met him. Will keep on at the wife to get onto the family for his pictures, he must have some somewhere!!
BRILLIANT BULLITT, ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
You have certainly made my day and some of his old workmates who are lurking on here might just come out of the woodwork.
I never saw him like that though, the old bugger did scrub up well.
God bless you Stanley and thanks for sharing that Rick.
I had an e-mail this morning from an old mate of mine called Dave Shawcross, who I worked with at three different companies over the years.
Dave told me that the guy in the photo with Stanley is John Roberts, another Middle East legend in the 70s/80s.
I only worked with John once for a couple of months but I remember seeing him on a few occasions running with a tilt that had the words Charlie Roberts on the side.
Does any body remember running with John ?.
Yes that was Stan alright!
I had a good mate on C & B’s named John Roberts,he was bald but had a 'tache but no glasses,came from Manchester,would love to meet up with him again.Along with Alan Jones,was one of the best lads on M/E.