Airborne Locations in South Kesteven
BRITISH 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION
The 1st Airborne Division began arriving in Lincolnshire in December 1943.
It landed near Arnhem during Operation MARKET GARDEN in September 1944.
It departed Lincolnshire to Norway and Denmark on Operations DOOMSDAY and ECLIPSE in May 1945.
It disbanded in Wiltshire on 13 November 1945.
1ST AIRBORNE DIVISIONAL UNITS
Unit | Location |
|---|---|
| HQ 1st Airborne Div | Fulbeck Hall |
| HQ Royal Engineers (RE), 1st Airborne Div | Fulbeck Hall |
| HQ Royal Artillery (RA), 1st Airborne Div | Fulbeck Hall |
| HQ Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), 1st Airborne Div | Leadenham House |
| HQ Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC), 1st Airborne Div | Fulbeck Manor |
| HQ Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), 1st Airborne Div | Fulbeck Manor |
| 1st Airborne Divisional Signals | Caythorpe |
| 1st Airborne Division Provost Company | Stubton Hall, moved to Harlaxton Manor before Xmas 44 |
| No 253 Company, RASC (Airborne Divisional Composite) | Allington House (No 1 Det), Feb-May 44; Harlaxton Manor , Feb-May 44; North Road Garage, Great Ponton, Feb-May 44 (did not land at Arnhem but supplied air despatch personnel) |
| 1st Airborne Division Ordnance Field Park, RAOC | Spitalgate School, Grantham |
| No 1 Forward Observer Unit, RA (Airborne) | Harlaxton Manor (from Jul 44) |
1ST PARACHUTE BRIGADE
Unit | Location |
|---|---|
| HQ, 1st Parachute Brigade | Syston Old Hall |
| 1 Parachute Brigade Headquarters, Defence Platoon | Syston Old Hall (until May 1944); Belton House (from May 44) |
| 2nd (Oban) Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery | RA Harrowby Lane Camp, Grantham |
| HQ 1st Parachute Battalion | Grimsthorpe Castle |
| R Company, 1st Parachute Battalion | Bulby Hall |
| S Company, 1st Parachute Battalion | Behind the Nag’s Head Hotel, Bourne |
| T Company, 1st Parachute Battalion | 9 and 11 Platoons: behind the Angel Hotel, North Street, Bourne; 10 Platoon: above the local Co-Op Shop, Burghley Centre, Hereward Street, Bourne |
| HQ 2nd Parachute Battalion | Stoke Rochford Hall |
| A Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion | Harlaxton Manor (early 1944); Easton Hall (by Mar 44) |
| B Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion | Millfield House, Colsterworth |
| C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion | Hungerton Hall (until Jul 44, then Mortar Platoon and Bren Carrier Section); ‘New Camp’ south of Harlaxton (from Jul 44) |
1st POLISH INDEPENDENT PARACHUTE BRIGADE GROUP
In July 1944, the Brigade moved from Leven in Scotland to the Stamford-Peterborough area of the East Midlands to be closer to the British 1st Airborne Division.
At the end of the war, the Brigade was attached to the Polish 1st Armoured Division and carried out occupation duties in northern Germany until June 1947, when it was disbanded.
Unit | Location |
|---|---|
| HQ Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group | Rock House, Stamford |
| 10th Polish Parachute Field Ambulance | Stamford School and grounds |
US IX TROOP CARRIER COMMAND
The US Ninth Air Force was formed in the United States in April 1942 and began combat operations in the Mediterranean theatre in November 1942. It fought in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Sicily and Italy before re-forming at Ascot, England, in October 1943.
One of Ninth Air Force's key components was IX Troop Carrier Command, responsible for carrying personnel and stores into combat areas and evacuating wounded troops. Its Headquarters was at Grantham from December 1943 to September 1944.
Troop Carrier units began arriving in England in January 1944 and some would remain until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945.
Unit | Location |
|---|---|
| HQ IX Troop Carrier Command | St Vincent’s Hall, Grantham Dec 1943-Sep 1944 |
| Accommodation of Major General Paul Williams, commander of IX Troop Carrier Command | Marston Hall |
| Accommodation for Enlisted Personnel of HQ IX Troop Carrier Command | RAF Harlaxton |
| IX Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder School/Pathfinder Group (Provisional) | RAF North Witham, Mar-Sep 1944 |
| IX Service Command 1st Tactical Air Depot and associated service and maintenance teams | RAF North Witham, Sep 43-May 45 |
| 313th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Folkingham, Feb 1944-Feb 1945 |
| 336th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Bottesford, Jan-Mar 1944 |
| 440th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Bottesford, Mar-Apr 1944 |
| 314th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Saltby, Feb 1944-Feb 1945 |
| 349th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Saltby, May 1945: detachment from France for Op DOOMSDAY |
| 61st Troop Carrier Group | RAF Barkston Heath, Feb 1944-Mar 1945 |
| 313th Troop Carrier Group RAF | RAF Barkston Heath, May 1945 (detachment from France for Op DOOMSDAY) |
| 349th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Barkston Heath, Mar-Apr 1945; May 1945 (detachment from France for Op DOOMSDAY) |
| 434th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Fulbeck, Oct 1943-Mar 1944 |
| 442nd Troop Carrier Group | RAF Fulbeck, Mar 1944-Jun 1944 |
| 440th Troop Carrier Group | RAF Fulbeck, Sep 1944 |
DROPZONES
The following locations in South Kesteven are known to have been used as dropzones.
Name | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| North of the village of Ropsley, east of Grantham (centred on Ordnance Survey square SK 9835) | Used by the British 1st Airborne Division | |
Pasture Lodge Farm | North-west of Long Bennington (centred on Ordnance Survey grid square SK 8246) | Used by the US 82nd Airborne Division |
Allington/Foston | Midway between Foston and Allington (centred on Ordnance Survey grid square SK 8541) | Used by the US 82nd Airborne Division |
MISCELLANEOUS LOCATIONS
Location | Airborne Heritage |
|---|---|
St Guthlac Church, Little Ponton | Richard Todd, actor and veteran of 7 (Light Infantry) Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is buried in the churchyard. |
Tinwell crash site (Rutland) | Site where two C-47 aircraft crashed following a mid-air collision in July 1944. Their passengers were Polish paratroopers. In total, 8 US aircrew and 26 Polish paratroopers and were killed in the crash. The Polish paratroopers are buried in Newark Cemetery (Nottinghamshire). |
Newark Cemetery (Nottinghamshire) | Within Newark Cemetery is a plot of land belonging to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The majority of burials within this plot are Polish airmen and soldiers, including the 26 paratroopers killed in the C-47 crash at Tinwell, Rutland. A memorial cross to the Polish airmen buried here was unveiled in 1941 by President Raczkiewicz, ex-President of the Polish Republic and head of the wartime Polish Government in London, supported by General Sikorski, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Forces and wartime Polish Prime Minister. When both men died, General Sikorski in 1943 and President Raczkiewicz in 1947, they were buried at the foot of the Polish Memorial. General Sikorski's remains were returned to Poland in 1993, but there is still a memorial to him at Newark. |