Today we visit RAF Scampton, the home of the Red Arrows acrobatic team.
This is also the airfield from which the 617 Dambuster Squadron left. They have
Guy Gibson VC’s office replicated to how it looked in 1943 and the grave of his
dog, N*gg*r. We were given a history of the base and it stretches from WW1.
They left his office the way it was at the time.
The new Memorial for Bomber Command has a Wall of Names. The metal is specially treated so
it doesn’t rust. Its height is exactly the wing
span of a Lancaster Bomber at 31 metres, and is the tallest monument in England.
From here you can see the Lincoln Cathedral which was used as a navigation point
for the bomber pilots.
The Chadwick Centre only opened earlier this year as a memorial to
Bomber Command. Apparently those who participated were denied a campaign ribbon
because the authorities may have been embarrassed about the ethics of bombing
civilians. The Dutch absolutely adored Bomber Command because in the winter of
1944-45 they were starving and they were dropped food supplies. They also had an immersive presentation.
The view from the memorial takes in the Lincoln Cathedral. It was used by the pilots as a navigation aid. On returning from missions it was a godsend.
The last stop of the day allowed us two hours to visit both the Lincoln
Cathedral and Castle. It was a Norman castle and this was the Lucy Tower. They
then built a second tower motte/bailey which is considered to be unusual.
Inside the castle walls they had a Victorian prison and the courthouse is still
used today.
The Lincoln Cathedral was a very impressive sized structure and had
chapels for the Army, Navy, and Airforce.
No comments:
Post a Comment