Tales of the Urban Explorer: The Polish Ex-Combatants Club

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I had heard about this Polish Church and its notoriety about entering. You needed to be an expert climber and be as flexible as Dhalsim from Street Fighter 2 to get in this one. That counted me out..., no chance I could compete with BendyMan unless I was holding a SNES controller.

It was a surprise when @anidiotexplorers messaged me one day, 'The Polish Church, the front door is open'. Could it be this easy, was this more bullshit information designed to waste our time and my gas?

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We added it to a shoddy Manchester agenda of previous fails, Karen-infested targets, and holes in the ground that nobody wanted to explore. If it was sealed, it could go down as the worst expedition ever.

The Polish Ex-Combatants Club’ closed in 2007 and has been rotting since that time.

The club opened in May 1949 after thousands of Polish pilots flew in the RAF, having escaped the crushing forces of Hitler's German army which overran much of Eastern Europe by the end of 1939.
Source

A demolition plan was proposed in 2020 which came to fruition later in 2022. The club has since been flattened.

However... before all that happened…

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‘The front door is open eh? we will see soon’…

We stood outside the red-bricked 'The Polish Ex-Combatants Club' wishing there were not as many people or parked cars in the vicinity.

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Getting a shot was tough unless you wanted to look at Range Rovers, as well as the main course. I compromised on some external higher-view shots that are at least less distracting.

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After negotiating a lot of anti-climbing fencing which appeared to be layered we arrived at a very solid-looking front door made of extra thick wood from another time.

We tried the handle; it didn't move. @anidiotexplores simply pushed and to our surprise it opened like Ali-Baba's cave. Startled, I dashed inside closing the door, not too hard or we could be trapped inside.

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The first impressions were bad. It looked like a building site, not a veterans club. Rubble and broken stones made for tough walking.

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Old newspapers but not Poland flavour.

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Heading further in, the building site look ended quickly and it got more interesting. These are definitely not English language.

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Whereas one of Mr. Swayze's earlier efforts is, the beer I don't recognize.

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There was no shortage of undecipherable literature strewn around.

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The door was intriguing. 'Members Only', perhaps 'Zombies Only' would have been more appropriate.

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Inside was the Snooker Table from hell, extensively layered with cumulative stale pigeon shit built up over the years. I remember this sight taking me back a little.

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The table looked more monochrome to my eyes, though the images have picked up some colour. See the window in the top corner? That was our next port of call.

…the was going to be one strange explore…

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After exiting into a courtyard and back through a window, into another section of ‘The Polish Ex-Combatants Club’, we continued. This section looked less damaged and more interesting.

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I got a feeling the Poles like to drink a lot. The building looked suspiciously like a church externally but internally was turning into a series of bars.

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A dusty crystal ball perhaps?

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May as well check the inside of the bar; there could have been a stash of drug money within. Who knows why that front door had suddenly become open?

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Plenty of cobwebs for sure.

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Why is there an upturned pick-axe in a bar?

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Don’t come on Mondays, something to remember for the future.

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Just shove all the furniture up together in a heap, won't you?

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It's tough walking down narrow passages when there's ill-placed red seating lining the length of it.

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This was turning into one of those explores, where you don't know where to look.

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It’s a playlist of 80’s songs, the ones you don’t want to hear ever again as they are constantly played everywhere.

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You know, there's bad music and then there are these LPs.

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Not this bar, but another one. This one plays 'Woodland Birds Greatest Hits' on repeat.

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I don’t know where the ‘Chopin Bar’ was, the sign was here but there was no bar.

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Brand new, still boxed, and probably old; I did check the value and they go for a few quid.

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Pascal to me is a computer language. These CDs don't strike me as educational in that sense.

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The Polish Ex-Combatants Club’ was big and maze-like inside. I wondered just how much more there was. Upstairs I think.

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Graffiti was in short supply. So far the only explorers in here were the more dedicated type. It had been a serious undertaking to get in before now.

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Bypassing the shelves that were barely holding on by the hinges I climbed yet another set of wooden dodgy stairs.

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… only to exit via some more stairs.

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It looked like a large hall, perhaps once with many chairs.

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At one end was yet another bar.

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Noting more Polish children's books, I snuck behind for a closer look.

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Are those the small glasses they use for that Polish Vodka? They were dusty but serviceable.

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At the other end of the hall sat a fading piano, sadly unplayable. I did try.

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The keys looked intact but appeared to be ‘glued’ down. Hitting a key resulted in no moving parts.

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This was not the end, and another corridor loomed ahead with a partially collapsed roof.

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It’s an antique of the past.

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A few broken-down doors and a lot of pigeon shit.

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Maybe there was some religion in ‘The Polish Ex-Combatants Club’ as well as lots of beer drinking.

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The contents were a little gunky for me.

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The vodka bottle is a little more predictable.

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Big piles of old books caked in shit. Not touching those.

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Granny's best china, as well as corroded Ever Ready batteries.

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These can take some beating but I wager this one was bust.

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It’s an extra small canteen for when you need tea and biscuits.

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… with a polish bill.

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Climbing down to the depths of ‘The Polish Ex-Combatants Club’ we had to take some care at the bottom; kind of bad stairs.

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What did we find? Another fucking bar.., in very good condition.

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It looks like it came from the realm of King Arthur, but is only about 55 years old.

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An alternative exit was provided but it was proving a little much, we backtracked up the other ‘not quite so collapsing steps’.

After a fifteen-minute hike and getting lost a few times, we found ourselves in the builder's yard again, quite relieved that nobody had locked us in.

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That was quite an adventure and one not readily forgotten.

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53 comments
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Quite the sprawling place. Must have been hell of a busy back in the day. You think it would have opened up to non ex-combatants to avoid closure or something. That big space you found could have been good for gigs!

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Very sprawling, the fact you had to climb through a window, into a courtyard, than back in another window was plain weird. I had a guide, so that made things easier.

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You definitely had better get working on them Dhalsim moves for all that malarkey 🙂

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Wow- what a beautiful building. Lots to see in that place. The snooker table looked unlike any other ! And I hope they fired their 'musical director' that was the worst record collection ever - did people really make and sell LPs with that rubbish on it ?!
!ALIVE

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That table was unreal, but looks quite normal on my photographs. Sometime you can't capture the true looks of things. Yeah, they sold all kinds of shit in the last decade.., truly bad stuff.

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Wow! My heart was literally in my... I don't even know, lolz 😂. Oh boy! That as indeed an adventure, I had thought about you guys getting locked in but I'm glad you weren't, it won't have been nice at all.

Those stairs are really old, at least you guys find a way up and down, hehe. The bars are just so much at different places in the building, it seem like a really buzzy bar at that time.

Thank you so much for taking so much risk to help us explore different urban buildings, I so much appreciate this one because it was a really hard one I'd say.

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(Edited)

you guys getting locked in but I'm glad you weren't, it won't have been nice at all.

The other way out was via the window, it would have been a severe test of my abilities to exit that way! Not a straightforward route at all.

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That wouldn't have been a good way out, it's a good thing the door was still opened.

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Well, that was sure an interesting trip. Most of those books are definitely in Polish if I can read it ;) Lots of bars sounds familiar as well! Although it's surprising to see them in the church 😂🤣

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It looks like a church, but it wasn't officially named one. 'Polish Church' is a name we gave it.

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That looked very grim in there with the bird shit!! Shame as it looks smart from outside.

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No smart enough to save it's bacon. All that stuff.. now gone including the not-so priceless car.

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Even though I was not there, the inside was quite the shock as to the outside. It is too bad that these old buildings are not restored. You tried the piano, I would not touch anything in there. I hope Santa brought you a good filtered mask for Christmas, going in places like this, you really need one. Thank you for the journey.

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I always try pianos, occasionally they work and I can have a chord jam. It's the only chance I get to play now.

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Yoga Flame! Thanks for the awesome trip through this place. Glad to see the vandalism was mostly committed by the birds, and not the sprawling human menace.

!ALIVE

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I'm wondering they didn't allow visitors on Mondays and what's that something to remember for the future? Is it open for public?

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Many places here close on Mondays. It an unpopular going out day.

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That is one big drinking parlour, no wonder you cant get a plumber when you want one.

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I counted at least 4 bars. That's getting on half of what I found in the Palace of Westminster when I had the freedom to roam around unchallenged (worked there for a short stint).

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IT Guru evens
Cleaner 2/1
pot washer 4/6
Security guard 4/1
Advisor to Mrs. Thatcher 10/1
MI5 33/1

you are a man of many talents

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That reminds me, I need to do another 'Horrors'. It's been around 9 months. I am never gonna finish it.

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concentrate dont procrastinate!

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What a place, very cool. Great captures 😎
Cool snooker table. Glad you got in… and could show us around.
Have a great Tuesday!

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Who is onion head hahahaha

whoa, what a vibe this place must have, I'm glad that even though it has so many bars at least there was a canteen for tea and biscuits!! :D

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Who is onion head hahahaha

Somone with a strong smelling bonce I imagine!

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Still looks good from the outside, but totally ruined inside.. Aren't you guys afraid of snakes hiding in a such place 😅

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Grand red brick building gone to rack and ruin, glad you managed a good snoop around before the big ball arrived to demolish it.... kaput!

Memories of people who served, got stranded bringing families over, nice piece of history. Hopefully not another arrival of this kind, history I mean!

Rather late than never, sorry timing out of sink 😇

@tipu curate 2

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A decent percentage of places are gone by the time I do the write-up, and the delay is getting longer, or me getting lazier!

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You've done it again. You have written an excellent post, and as I see these, I feel like shooting and sharing abandoned places in my own city. 😏 But I have two questions, do you wear a mask because you talk about the smell in many of your posts? And do you worry about the possibility of any human or disease inside?
I guess you must be trying not to touch things too much 😁😁

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(Edited)

I was told my Family who served in WWII spoke very highly of Polish troops, they got the job done.

A very impressive building from the outside, I was wondering if you managed to climb the tower stairs.

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I was wondering if you managed to climb up the tower.

I didn't, and didn't see the entrance to it. Inside was a massive warren. There was a lot to see and stuff everywhere.

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A real shame they tore it down, it looks like a fascinating place! I'm glad you got to go in :)

Why is there an upturned pick-axe in a bar?

Maybe a decoration?

May as well check the inside of the bar; there could have been a stash of drug money within. Who knows why that front door had suddenly become open?

That would have been a unique find! What would you have done?

not too hard or we could be trapped inside.

You could always call for help 😂

This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project

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That would have been a unique find! What would you have done?

Keeping it poses a lot of issues, I don't know. When there's other people with you, that complicates things further.

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The whole thing could have gotten messy real fast 😲 But then, you were out for adventure after all!

!PIZZA

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A real shame they tore it down, it looks like a fascinating place! I'm glad you got to go in :)

Why is there an upturned pick-axe in a bar?

Maybe a decoration?

May as well check the inside of the bar; there could have been a stash of drug money within. Who knows why that front door had suddenly become open?

That would have been a unique find! What would you have done?

not too hard or we could be trapped inside.

You could always call for help 😂

This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project

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OMG, that snooker table.

I'm all good with a church offering alcohol, but...

OMG, that snooker table.

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It seems like a walking dead kind of scenery 😂

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I have gotten very used to walking through the set of 'The Walking Dead'.. hehe...

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