The Centre was formerly part of No 1 Communal Site, RAF Woodhall Spa and was contructed in 1940. The buildings remaining are all 'temporary' brick structures and had a planned life span of only ten years! No 1 Site included the Officers' and Sergeants' Messes, Dining Halls, NAAFI or Institute building, together with the ration stores, latrine and ablution blocks. Only the Airmens' Dining Halls, NAFFI and Ration Store are within the Centre's boundary.

The South Hall of the Visitor Centre houses displays covering the airfield and its environs generally, with separate areas for each of the Squadrons which operated from RAF Woodhall Spa during World War II. The displays include artefacts, memorabilia, photographs and illustrations of men, machines and operations connected with these Squadrons.

Click here for a brief history of RAF Woodhall Spa

Compared with some of the areas of Britain that suffered the worst of Hilter's Blitz, Lincolnshire could be looked upon as a quiet backwater. This was not the case and almost every family in the county was effected in one way or another by the Second World War. Lincolnshire suffered air raids on 300 days of the War; 408 persons were killed and 1233 injured. With the development of the bomber offensive and, in 1940, the threat of invasion, everyone became part of the fight on the Home Front. The various aspects of this fight are being developed on our displays.

Displays include:

• "Nan One" - a typical wartime Observer Corps Post, manned continuously by volunteer members of the Corps from 3 September 1939 to VE Day, 8 May 1945.
• An Anderson Shelter - issued by the Government in preparation for what was to be a bomber war. Ideally, they were to be buried at least three feet in the garden and covered with excavated spoil.
• An A.R.P. Warden's Post - formed in the mid-1930's, the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions), renamed the Civil Defence in September 1941, was the organisation responsible for dealing with enemy bombing raids on civilian areas. Wardens posts were established in all towns and villages.
• An Auxiliary Patrol Hideout - an underground bunker to be occupied by Britain's top secret Resistance Movement. Formed in 1940 at the height of the invasion threat, these small bands of highly trained operatives - selected for their local knowledge, would appear from their hideouts to harass the enemy.
• A Wartime Kitchen - a display put together by the local Womens Institute for the Fiftieth Anniverasry of VE Day.
• A Bomb Damaged Front Room - with a Morrison shelter (from the Fordyce Collection), an "under the table" refuge from enemy bombs.
• Prisoners of War - a display using exhibits from the Fordyce Collection depicting prisoner of war life, including sections devoted to Colditz and the Great Escape.

Opening Times and Facilities

Location

Membership

The Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre can also be contacted by e-mailing Mike Hodgson.

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