South Kesteven District Council has been awarded almost £150,000 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop a project highlighting the build-up in the area of airborne forces ahead of major Allied operations in the Second World War.
The funding has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
The £147,550 will enable SKDC to spread awareness of a unique story, entitled Soldiers From The Sky.
It will document how paratroopers of three nations – Britain, America and Poland – came together in South Kesteven during 1944 in preparation for the famous battles of Operation Overlord (D-Day) and Operation Market Garden (Arnhem).
Commemorating their local presence and impact will create a new visitor trail of national and international significance amidst a District that housed troops, witnessed their training and saw them leave aboard giant airborne armadas.
Using the 80th anniversaries of both military milestones, the project will collaborate with visitor attractions, accommodation providers, volunteer groups, schools, businesses and residents to create a physical and digital trail identifying and celebrating the back-stories before they pass from living memory.
Two of the most daring and iconic Airborne operations of the war were planned and launched from South Kesteven:
D-Day, 6 June 1944: Pathfinder paratroopers flying from South Kesteven spearheaded the American airborne assault, setting up beacons for the main US airborne force. US aircraft from local airfields then dropped more than 6,300 paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division in Normandy.
Operation Market Garden (Arnhem): the largest airborne assault of WW2, memorialised in the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’. US aircraft flying from local airfields dropped more than 8,600 British, US and Polish paratroopers, and towed more than 3,000 US glider troops to their landing zones in the Netherlands.
Ferrying them into battle were the unsung heroes of America’s 9th Troop Carrier Command, launching waves of aircraft from giant airfields around Grantham.
The 18-month project will include a website, smartphone app, information signs, an exhibition at Grantham Museum and commemoration events.
Letters supporting the bid came from visitor sites with airborne links such as Easton Walled Gardens and Harlaxton Manor, community groups, America’s National Glider Pilots Association and the top echelons of the Britain Army’s 16 Air Assault – the Parachute Regiment.
Cllr Paul Stokes, the Deputy Leader of SKDC, said: “Soldiers From The Sky represents an unprecedented and exciting opportunity to discover, explore and share the back-stories to this amazing chapter of our military heritage.
“We are extremely grateful to National Lottery players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for enabling us to dust off and celebrate that chapter. It will help us value, care for and sustain our very special heritage
“Lincolnshire is widely known as ‘Bomber County’, rightly highlighting its role in the Second World War, but we have a unique and complementary story to tell of how airborne soldiers of three nations came together in preparation for iconic battles.
“By making these stories accessible and relevant to new audiences we will enhance public, community, volunteer and stakeholder engagement and awareness, strengthen the visitor offer and unite communities through pride in a shared heritage, ensuring a lasting commemorative legacy.”
Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/Robert L Parker
