real time web analytics
Report - - RAF Kirton in Lindsey, Lincoln, April 2014 | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - RAF Kirton in Lindsey, Lincoln, April 2014

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

catbalou

off the wall
Regular User
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: -

rafkirton002_zps1b98153d.jpg


rafkirton015_zps2811955e.jpg


rafkirton021_zpse6805d14.jpg


rafkirton043_zpsb9261f08.jpg


rafkirton044_zps4c850aaa.jpg


rafkirton072_zps655e82fb.jpg


rafkirton059_zps40c65ae2.jpg


rafkirton036_zpse7f78799.jpg

Internals: -​

rafkirton053_zps17df1eca.jpg


rafkirton039_zpseb0e0d1d.jpg


rafkirton025_zpsff3dcf06.jpg


rafkirton024_zpsb5ab02d4.jpg


rafkirton017_zps2d2c2c90.jpg


rafkirton013_zps554c7120.jpg


rafkirton006_zps40275b4f.jpg


rafkirton0041_zpscdf5b55b.jpg


Roof: -​

rafkirton032_zps90014fbf.jpg


rafkirton031_zps67912c66.jpg


rafkirton030_zps0faa68ba.jpg


rafkirton035_zpseafcc904.jpg


and an attempt at a pano... :rolleyes:

rafkirton077_zps5f5ee029.jpg

Cat.
 

catbalou

off the wall
Regular User
nice work,
like the arial shots of the buildings.

yes, was a good viewpoint of the site and a nice way to spend 8am on a weekend morn. managed to climb up and get back down before the heavens opened and a huge downpour which saw me running to shelter in the training rooms to dry off
 

dave

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice work its well worth a visit i went here last month and still havnt got round to sticking my pics up mind i had a visit from the police training dog section so the visit was cut short slightly, managed to sneak out avoiding a pack of mad alsations.
 

Matthieu

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Great photos. I've always wondered a little bit anyway. What reason would those cars end up there like that, especially on a disused RAF base? They all look like they're perfectly functional relatively new cars. What are they all doing just rotting away in a warehouse on an abandoned site? Always wondered why…

Anyway - Those are great photos. :thumb
 

scottj

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Oooooo, lovely place to visit :) Norfolkexplorer, i'm looking at a visit if you want to give it another crack ;)
 

ExpoLight

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice report, another large site. I would have to spend the week there to photograph the lot in detail. Just the time as well seems to go like wild fire when I am behind a camera.
 

Wevsky

A Predisposed Tourist
Regular User
Nice report that cat..i see someones been checking the oil on one of the cars!
 
Top