D-Day walks at Twyford Wood, near Colsterworth, to honour American wartime bravery as part of South Kesteven District Council’s Soldiers from the Sky project

The story of American troops who spearhead the Allied invasion of Europe from a Grantham airfield is to be explored.

D-Day commemorations will this year include walks exploring American Pathfinder troops’ wartime bravery.

The hosted walks will take place on June 5, 12, and 19, at the former RAF North Witham, — now Forestry England-owned Twyford Wood, near Colsterworth.

It is part of South Kesteven District Council’s Soldiers from the Sky project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The project illustrates the untold stories of Allied paratroopers from Britain, America and Poland who gathered in the district to train for D-Day and Arnhem and flew from the area’s airfields.

It was from RAF North Witham, on the eve of D-Day, that C-47 aircraft of America’s 9th Troop Carrier Command carried elite paratroopers from the US Army’s 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions behind enemy lines in advance of the main taskforce.

The walks will follow the airfield’s still intact runways and trace how, at 21:54 on June 5, 1944, the first of 20 Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft took off, skimming the channel at 50ft to fly under enemy radar on their way to Normandy.

Paratroopers had spent months training to position Eureka radio signalling beacons and visual markers behind enemy lines, and within the hour the Allied airborne assault on Normandy was in full swing.

The walks are free to attend but tickets must be booked via Ticket Tailor:

June 5 event: https://tinyurl.com/DDayJune5

June 12 event: https://tinyurl.com/DDayJune12

June 19 event: https://tinyurl.com/DDayJune19

Each will last around two and a half hours, and start at 5.30pm from the main Twyford Wood car park, off the A151 Colsterworth to Bourne Road.