New information board commemorates RAF Barkston Heath wartime heritage

Liz Parkin and Peter Motley (front) with assembled guests at the unveiling, from left, W/O Ian Chick, 4th Battalion Parachute Regiment, Coun Dixon-Warren, Flt Lt Michael Frankel, RAF Barkston Heath, Sqn Ldr Michael Chambers, RAF Barkston Heath, Rev Stuart Hadley and Coun Gloria Johnson. Photo: SKDC

RAF Barkston Heath’s military heritage has been commemorated with a new information board installed in the porch of St Nicholas’ Church in Barkston.

The board has been funded by a donation and designed by South Kesteven District Council. It traces airfield origins, its roles in the 1944 milestones of D-Day and Operation Market Garden (Battle of Arnhem) and the key wartime alliance between the British 1st Airborne Division and America’s Troop Transport Command.

Liz Parkin, who lives at Syston, used a bequest from her late father Eric Motley to fund the board in recognition of his service in the RAF.

She unveiled it with her brother Peter Motley in a ceremony coinciding with the last week in office of the Rev Stuart Hadley, retiring as rector of The South Cliff Villages Group.

Attendees included SKDC chairman Coun Gloria Johnson, council Armed Forces Champion Coun Richard Dixon Warren, RAF and Parachute Regiment representatives and Terry Musson, whose Barkston Heath Research Group continues to unearth airfield wartime history.

Liz Parkin said: “Our father spent the last 11 years of his life here in Barkston and it was always my parents’ wishes to leave a small donation to the church and the local community. We felt we would like something specific to be done with the money and we are really pleased that my father’s donation has contributed to this wonderful notice board.

“We heard that work was being done around the concept of a military heritage information board and the part that RAF Barkston Heath played during the war. It’s such a beautiful and meaningful memorial to honour all those connected to Operation Market Garden. We know that our father would be absolutely thrilled.”

Liz and Rob Parkin train puppies for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, recognising the support her father received from military veteran charity ‘Blind Veterans’ in later life.

Coun Dixon Warren said: “Lincolnshire’s rightly venerated Bomber County history is much better known than the story of the British, American and Polish Airborne Forces’ presence in South Kesteven in 1944.

“This story, the part played by tens of thousands of paratroopers, glider pilots and crews of the aircraft that took them to Normandy and then Holland nearly 80 years ago should stand shoulder to shoulder alongside the story of Bomber County. As a council we are committed to promoting this heritage and pleased to have provided content and design for the board.”

The board siting in the church porch ensures its accessibility to the public.