Anzio Camp.

The Anzio Camp lies near Blackshaw Moor near Leek in Staffordshire, the camp dates back to 1943 and was first used by the US Army to house and Anti Aircraft (AA) Battalion.

In 1946 the camp was taken over by Polish troops until the end of WWII where it remained under Polish control but was turned into a civillian settlement, the Poles stayed until 1963.

From 1963 to the early 80s not much history can be found on the camp but in 1980 the Ministry Of Defence took control over the site and used it as a training ground for the Army and Territorial Army and Cadets.

The camp itself is the largest MOD training estate in the West Midlands and can house upto a full Battalion of 800 troops at any one time.

The original remains of the WWII camp are now part of farmland at the rear of the main camp itself the latter being built in 1980 and becoming operational by 1983.

Alongside the camp and located a few miles to the North East is the training grounds, this covers over 2000 acres of rugged open country, which is perfect for adventure and infantry training, also located within the training grounds is a helicopter landing zone.

The camp finally closed in 2004 as it was found surplus to MOD needs, however the site still maintained a 24-7 security presence until funding finally ran out.

The camp is now completely derelict and although some buildings have been broken into there is surprisingly no vandalism or grafitti which was nice to see, the eerie thing is though the power is still on which gives a very Resident Evil feeling to it, but adds to the ambience of the place.

The camp has recently been sold to developers who are transforming it into a retirement village.

This place has been on our lists of explores for a while now and with the site being redeveloped and rumours of classified material still being present on the site found by other explorers, Alley and myself thought it was about time we payed the place a visit before its too late.

So one cold and wet November morning we arrived with great expectations, sadly though it turns out the classified maps and files where no more than detailed schematics of the camp itself and the files being no more than repair works and equipment installations.

Disappointing in one way but still and enjoyable explore and worth seeing before its redeveloped.