The world’s first Heritage Centre dedicated to WW2’s Polish aircrews has opened at RAF Ingham after 14 years of effort by a team of devoted volunteers.
They have transformed an old farm storage building, formerly the wartime Airmen’s Mess, into a wonderful and fitting location to tell an almost forgotten story.
The Centre is dedicated to remembering and celebrating (through their own personal stories) the remarkable lives and memories of the men and women (both ground and air crews) of the Polish Air Force Bomber Squadrons, who lived, worked and flew alongside the RAF during the Second World War; and will also tell the humanitarian story of their struggles to settle and integrate into ‘post-war’ Britain, whilst retaining their customs, culture and Polish heritage.
RAF Ingham (later known as RAF Cammeringham) was a Royal Air Force station used by RAF Bomber Command between 1942 and 1944 and by training units and the Polish Air Force until 1946.
The first squadron to be based at RAF Ingham was No.300 Polish Bomber Sqn who arrived in May 1942 from RAF Hemswell. They stayed until Jan 1943, when they returned to Hemswell. The next month saw the arrival of No.199 Sqn, who themselves only stayed until Jun 1943. Within a week, No.300 Sqn returned, bringing with them No.305 Polish Bomber Sqn, as the they were constructing concrete runways at Hemswell. No.305 Sqn only stayed through the summer, before leaving to join Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) in Sep. This left No.300 Sqn as the sole custodians of RAF Ingham, before they also departed for a final time, to RAF Faldingworth in Mar 1944.
At the end of hostilities, many Polish servicemen and women chose not to return to the now communist governed Poland and decided to remain in Britain, making it their new home, under the Polish Resettlement Act of 1947. Formed in 1946 the Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC) provided Polish personnel with a trade and language lessons, for integration into British society. Polish Resettlement Units (PRU) were created to accommodate these personnel and their families.
RAF Cammeringham had a PRU, which was built on a former RAF accommodation site, at the southern edge of Ingham Village. Nissen Huts were internally designed to create basic yet austere family dwellings.
In 2023, RAF Ingham’s team of volunteers were one of the first groups to be awarded the new King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Chairman of RAF Ingham Heritage Centre Geoff Burton said: “After so many years of hard work and dedication by our wonderful team of volunteers, we are finally able to open the Centre to the public.
“This project is globally unique, and tells the story of the Polish Bomber Squadrons who fought alongside the RAF during the Second World War; but we also remember the almost forgotten history of a small Lincolnshire airfield RAF Ingham, that only ever existed through the war years.
“We expect to welcome visitors from not only the local area, but regionally and nationally as well; and due to the global uniqueness of the Centre, we anticipate attracting international visitors from Poland, America, Canada and Australia. This in turn will greatly support and benefit the local and Counties economy. “
The Main Exhibition Centre comprises of two wings, covering over 4602m of exhibition space; an atmospheric Polish Families Nissen Hut; a Mini-Cinema, Shop and Toilets. Around the Site there is also a Memorial Garden, the Remembrance Garden, Volunteer Workshop, Nissen Hut Vegetable Garden, and not forgetting their ‘Airmen’s Rest’ Cafe and Picnic Area.
The site also benefits from free parking and same-level access in almost all areas. Guided tours and group bookings are available by prior arrangement (dependent on staff availability). The entire exhibition is bi-lingual (Polish and English).
The Centre will formally open to the public for their first open weekend on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April 2024, 10am to 3pm.
Normal Opening times will be from Saturday 20 April:
- Thursday, 10am to 3pm
- Saturday, 10am to 3pm
- Sunday, 10am to 3pm
