History on our doorstep

There are times when living in this area (Lincolnshire, to be precise, in case you are reading this in Dulwich as you came across this while unpacking the Ming vase you brought on an online auction site and said vase was wrapped up in it), you cannot - or rather I cannot - get over the fact the region is so full of recent history, as in the last century.

The RAF connection is very much apparent and amazing to think so much happened here during the Second World War with assorted bases and the like almost on a lot of people’s doorsteps or a short car drive away.

The other week we had a drive out to the Bomber Command Memorial in Lincoln and to say it’s moving to see the names inscribed there of more than 58,000 service personnel who gave their lives for this one segment of the armed forces would be something of an understatement regardless of the fact it has taken more than 70 years to make this memorial a reality. We won’t go into the fact some people consider it somehow immoral because of the destruction caused by these brave people who paid the ultimate price, although these same said people who consider it somehow immoral might now be talking in another language, assuming they lasted this long, had it not been partly for these actions.

Whenever I read or hear bits nowadays about those in Bomber Command who caused ‘death and destruction’, just remember who started it off in the first place - but while this despicable, power-mad creature did the same to other countries before us, we were able to fight back and thankfully we did and the high price paid is inscribed on walls of steel in a memorial in Lincoln should we need reminding.

One annoying thing we encountered this time is that the memorial is not yet signposted sufficiently from the road as we, like quite a few others we noted, drove past the opening as it's on a tight bend. You have to go on into Lincoln before turning round to go back on ourselves, but on asking one of the staff there as to why there were no road signs, it seems the county council/whoever is still sorting it out - apparently - although no doubt it's possibly down to whose department it is to sort or becomes another victim of buck-passing as to who is supposed to be sorting it.

Ironic that so many took off during the war, flying towards the enemy many hundreds of miles away, and back - but here we can’t get signs to their memorial.

It’s quite fascinating, if not least very emotional, to see the many names inscribed with the numerous poppies inserted by relatives, families or friends in the various names - they are cut into upright sheets of thick steel ‘stencil’ fashion - plus small wooden crosses and photographs, either in plastic sleeves or in frames, are very touching and if nothing else show that people still care and that they are not forgotten.

Another place offering an insight into recent history is Thorpe Camp, near Tattershall Thorpe/Woodhall Spa, which we have driven past on assorted occasions, but prior to this, we visited a recent 1940s-themed event and Thorpe had a stand there with the lady being quite informative about the camp, what it had to offer etc, so we went on a ‘re-enactment’ weekend, which had assorted enactment groups, vehicles etc, plus numerous stalls selling items of the 1940s period, from clothing to gas masks to household items, plus china utensils for keeping under the bed in case the roof leaked - supposedly...

From the road, the site it looks quite small, but once through the visitor centre gate, it’s much like an Aladdin’s cave, as there are so many huts or buildings beyond, with amazing items in them relating to various history facets from the First World War onwards to present day items - one attraction is a mini cinema showing early WW1 films of Zeppelin raids and the Royal Flying Corps in action against them.

One section that intrigued me was the Arnhem connection with Lincolnshire, with assorted items relating to the raid. History tells us all too well it was far from successful.

I knew a chap called Alec, who had survived this raid to try and capture that bridge in Holland and as like most people who served in such campaigns, he was quiet about his involvement as he was ‘just doing the job, mate’ as he put it, but he never saw the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’ made about the operation when it was in the cinema. He did see it on television years later and was totally taken by the attention to detail and pointed out that even though he was not there at the time, director Sir Richard Attenborough had done the subject justice in his view, speaking as someone who did take part.

An amusing aside was heard during a bash I attended that was unrelated to anything military, but there was somebody who had the RAF badge sewn on his blazer pocket and seemed quite chatty, but the interesting bit was when a fellow guest and myself overheard him say to a small throng of misty-eyed ‘fans’ he had ‘served in 633 squadron’ during the War. Bearing in mind ‘633 squadron’ was a cinema film and a work of fiction, so the ‘squadron’ does not exist, we both stifled our laughter and wondered what the ‘squadron reunions’ were like, more so when our new-found ‘Biggles’ pointed out he ‘only just made it back after one dicey raid he flew on’.

So I thought of the parallels between this ‘Biggles’, who was obviously a fantasist, and Alec, who basically you had to crowbar it out of him, as after all, he ‘just doing the job, mate’.

I should point out that ‘Biggles’ was a fictional pilot who was the hero of the 'Biggles' books, written by W. E. Johns many years ago for those who are unaware of whom I am referring to, so possibly might not be available on social media to contact for those so inclined or desperate to befriend anyone and anything.

Closer to home, my granddad, who served in the First World War and had quite a few medals - he never referred to ‘winning’ them - but never wore them as far as I can recall and me being an inquisitive schoolboy asked him about ‘the big war’ but he never would speak of it, but judging by his row of medals, had certainly done something in order to have got them.

He did explain once, just the once, that until ‘it’ happened, he was but a normal working bloke who was called up to fight being of a certain age then and ‘got stuck in’ to the matter in hand.

True, he had some medals, but he also lost a lot of his friends in the process and there was no glamour to killing other people, who were perhaps in that same position as him but different uniform, as he would rather have been in the pub with them, with a decent pint of best bitter and perhaps they may well have thought the same.

I am not plugging the above venues but merely pointing out their presence, as along with many similar venues, it’s our history they hold.