Overview of the station from RAF.mod.uk: -
"Originally opened in 1916, and a 12 Gp Sector airfield in Fighter Command through the Battle of Britain, the station spent 40 years as ‘Rapier Barracks’ under Army control before returning to RAF ownership in 2004. It is home to No.1 Air Control Centre (1ACC); the Unit having relocated from RAF Boulmer in 2004-05. Kirton also provides accommodation and messing for personnel based at, and is administered by, RAF Scampton."
The site has been covered a lot on here, so I wont bore you with writing tons about its history…. It can be found ‘in a nutshell’ on wiki here: -
RAF Kirton in Lindsey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
However, in researching the history of the place I’d like to share a snippet of a World War Two memory by Mary Blood (nee Pettit) a W.A.A.F at RAF Kirton Lindsey in 1943… It gives an insight into everyday life during those times….
"By now the war had been going on for nearly three years. In many respects it had become the ‘norm’. That is not to say we were enjoying it – it was a fact of life with which you had to cope. Yes, there were air raids; yes, there was the constant awareness that aircrew were going out and not returning. You felt that nothing would happen to you. The common thought at the time was, ‘If it’s got my name on it……' We had to work hard, and we played hard. The way of life in the Forces meant that everything was provided for you. Meals were there; if your shoes needed repair, you took them in; if something wore out, you went to Equipment and changed it. We were all in our late teens or twenties and we did the best we could to enjoy ourselves. If we didn’t enjoy life when we were young, then, tough, so you retained your own individuality as far as was possible in the prevailing circumstances. You had to learn tolerance; you had to learn to cope with, and mix with people whom you might not like or ever want to have met. But, I regard this period as ‘my University of Life’. You grew up very quickly!
So, here I was at Kirton Lindsey early in 1943. Postings were normally to stations within your own Group, in this case 12 Group, Fighter Command. Kirton had a satellite station at nearby Hibaldstow, and part of its function was to exchange Squadrons with Coltishall to relieve those aircrew who had been on active service for a period and let them have a short ‘rest’.
The combined stations, the main one at Kirton opened in May 1940 and the satellite at Hibaldstow opened in 1941, had together about two thousand personnel. Kirton was built as a permanent R.A.F. station although it had only grass runways; Hibaldstow was a Nissen-hutted site with only the control tower as a concrete structure. The latter still stands today and has been converted into a private house. But Hibaldstow had concrete runways."
My visit: -
I got here quite early on a morning and had the run of the place to myself for a good two hours... not a soul around. It is a huge site and was still quite awesome to walk around. Its very stripped now, and a veritable “ghost town†but it is still very much worth a wander to get the feel of the place and what it used to be. My photos, as usual don’t do the place justice.. but I was quite happy just to soak in the ambience and snap away
Externals: -
Internals: -
The site has been covered a lot on here, so I wont bore you with writing tons about its history…. It can be found ‘in a nutshell’ on wiki here: -
RAF Kirton in Lindsey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
However, in researching the history of the place I’d like to share a snippet of a World War Two memory by Mary Blood (nee Pettit) a W.A.A.F at RAF Kirton Lindsey in 1943… It gives an insight into everyday life during those times….
"By now the war had been going on for nearly three years. In many respects it had become the ‘norm’. That is not to say we were enjoying it – it was a fact of life with which you had to cope. Yes, there were air raids; yes, there was the constant awareness that aircrew were going out and not returning. You felt that nothing would happen to you. The common thought at the time was, ‘If it’s got my name on it……' We had to work hard, and we played hard. The way of life in the Forces meant that everything was provided for you. Meals were there; if your shoes needed repair, you took them in; if something wore out, you went to Equipment and changed it. We were all in our late teens or twenties and we did the best we could to enjoy ourselves. If we didn’t enjoy life when we were young, then, tough, so you retained your own individuality as far as was possible in the prevailing circumstances. You had to learn tolerance; you had to learn to cope with, and mix with people whom you might not like or ever want to have met. But, I regard this period as ‘my University of Life’. You grew up very quickly!
So, here I was at Kirton Lindsey early in 1943. Postings were normally to stations within your own Group, in this case 12 Group, Fighter Command. Kirton had a satellite station at nearby Hibaldstow, and part of its function was to exchange Squadrons with Coltishall to relieve those aircrew who had been on active service for a period and let them have a short ‘rest’.
The combined stations, the main one at Kirton opened in May 1940 and the satellite at Hibaldstow opened in 1941, had together about two thousand personnel. Kirton was built as a permanent R.A.F. station although it had only grass runways; Hibaldstow was a Nissen-hutted site with only the control tower as a concrete structure. The latter still stands today and has been converted into a private house. But Hibaldstow had concrete runways."
My visit: -
I got here quite early on a morning and had the run of the place to myself for a good two hours... not a soul around. It is a huge site and was still quite awesome to walk around. Its very stripped now, and a veritable “ghost town†but it is still very much worth a wander to get the feel of the place and what it used to be. My photos, as usual don’t do the place justice.. but I was quite happy just to soak in the ambience and snap away
Externals: -
Internals: -
Roof: -
and an attempt at a pano...
Cat.
