Aspects of Lincoln: Discovering Local History

By Andrew Walker

Aspects of Lincoln, is the first in the widely acclaimed Aspects series to feature the City of Lincoln. However the Aspects series now extends from the east and west Midlands, up to Lancaster in the north-west and the north Yorkshire coast in the east.Aspects of Lincoln, is a multi author book containing 12 pinpoint historical essays covering such diverse subjects as: Cinemas and Cinema Going in 20th Century Lincoln, Getting Drunk in 17th Century Lincoln, the story of Emily Gilbert, motoring pioneer and first woman sheriff of Lincoln. No story of Lincoln would be complete without Royal Air Force Bomber Command during World War 2, and here, we examine the social impact of the airfields and their staff on both City and County. In a more peaceful vein, we study the work of artist Peter de Wint and the importance of his works, now held in the Usher Gallery. Elsewhere we encounter the development of technical education in the City and remember the plight of those imprisoned in Lincoln's jails during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These and much much more are to be found between the covers of Aspects of Lincoln. A treasury of history, both for the armchair historian and the student alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 14, 2002
• ISBN: 9781473826724

Andrew Walker

 Andrew T. Walker (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian ethics and public theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an associate dean in the School of Theology. He is a fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center and managing editor of WORLD Opinions. He resides with his wife and three daughters in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

by Andrew Walker

Lincoln has already been well served by historians, as the contributors to this collection acknowledge. However, there is still scope for much more investigation of Lincoln’s rich past. This current volume aims both to entertain and to educate. It has been compiled to appeal both to readers with an interest in and an affection for Lincoln and also to those interested in the subject of Local History more generally. One of the book’s aims is to raise as many questions in readers’ minds as it answers. It is hoped that it will stimulate more interest in the study of the city and its locality’s past – both recent and distant.

Aspects of Lincoln covers a broad time period. Jim Johnston’s fascinating metaphorical pub crawl uses probate inventories to help reconstruct the colourful world of Lincoln’s seventeenth-century inns and alehouses. The book also examines aspects of the city’s history within living memory. Drawing upon his own extensive visual archive of material, George Clarke’s richly illustrated examination of the city’s twentieth century cinema history will undoubtedly prompt readers’ recollections of their own past cinema-going experiences.

Several chapters here draw our attention to prominent Lincoln individuals, who have been rather neglected. John Wilford examines the fascinating and turbulent life of Thomas Watson, Lincoln’s last Catholic bishop. John Wilford’s chapter highlights the central part played by Thomas Watson, Bishop of Lincoln in the political and religious disputes that raged during the sixteenth century. A little closer to our own times, Alice Rodgers painstakingly records the life of her great aunt, Emily Gilbert. Alice Rodgers’ chapter, based on personal recollections and an extensive family archive, reveals clearly how a determined woman could carve out a ‘respectable’ life for herself outside the confines of the home during the early twentieth century. Jenny Walton’s piece examines the role of Lincoln’s town crier, making excellent use of an interview with Lincoln’s most authoritative voice on the subject – Terry Stubbings, the city’s current town crier.

The collection acknowledges the social and economic changes that prompted significant growth in Lincoln during the nineteenth century. By examining a variety of primary source materials including much visual evidence, Dennis Mills traces the development from the late eighteenth century onwards of a Lincoln ‘edge-land’ neglected by historians, the Witham Valley east of Canwick Road. Kate Hill’s stimulating chapter also focuses upon Lincoln during this period of significant social and economic change. The chapter stresses the diverse nature of Victorian middle-class life in Lincoln and suggests that the city’s middle classes were slow to embrace civic reform.

John Sanders’ chapter also, indirectly, considers nineteenth century middle-class life in Lincoln through an examination of an artist whose work had many middle-class admirers. Peter De Wint’s paintings, as John Sanders reveals, drew considerable inspiration from the city and its surroundings. Using examples of De Wint’s work in Lincoln’s Usher Gallery collection, John Sanders demonstrates persuasively why De Wint’s pictures of early nineteenth century Lincoln are of such importance.

Two other chapters within the collection focus upon nineteenth century life within the city. Eleanor Nannestad’s work draws upon her impressive knowledge of Lincoln Central Library’s Local Studies collection. She demonstrates how increasing wages and leisure time, alongside developments in transport, allowed Lincoln’s population to enjoy trips to a variety of destinations during the period. In sharp contrast, Terry Nowell’s chapter on Lincoln’s prisons, through a close reading of a variety of prison officials’ journals, reveals the changing experiences both of inmates and employees of Lincoln’s prisons.

Inevitably, Lincoln’s past is intimately tied up with that of the nation. In many of the chapters already mentioned, developments in Lincoln are placed in a wider context. Two chapters demonstrate clearly how national events and policies affected local lives during the twentieth century. Philip Swan’s chapter looks at how Lincoln and its surrounding airfields responded to the demands of war and the arrival of Bomber Command between 1939 and 1945. With the extensive use of autobiographical, oral and pictorial evidence, he examines the wartime airbase communities that developed in the Lincoln district and their social and cultural impact. Jan Relf’s chapter looks at the way in which one educational institution in Lincoln responded to the changing national educational agenda through the twentieth century. Making use of North Lincolnshire College’s archives, she carefully plots the development of technical education in the city from the later nineteenth century to the 1990s. Jan Relf’s chapter is a timely reminder of the important economic, cultural and social contributions all of Lincoln’s educational institutions have made and continue to make to the city.

I would like to record my thanks to the contributors. With their help, the collection bears all the best hallmarks of an Aspects volume: carefully researched and readable chapters covering a diverse range of subjects written by authors with evident enthusiasms who are keen to share their findings with others.

On behalf of the contributors, I would also like to express gratitude to the staff of the various archives and libraries who have helped in the production of this volume, but particularly to staff at Lincoln Central Library and Lincoln Archives.

Finally I would like to thank all those at Wharncliffe Books, especially Mike Parsons and Brian Elliott, for their willing help and wise counsel in the production of this work.

1. DARK SKIES: ROYAL AIR FORCE BOMBER COMMAND IN LINCOLNSHIRE

by Philip Swan

SIXTY YEARS AGO, THE SUMMER SKIES of the southern counties of England were filled with the shapes of Hurricanes and Spitfires fighting what came to be called The Battle of Britain. At this time Lincolnshire rural life was still dominated by the agricultural seasons, and on one level appeared to continue as it had for centuries.¹ Yet this was a Total War, which meant that everyone, in their various ways, was involved in the conflict against Fascism. Increased agricultural production² was imperative in order to sustain a population which was being denied the importation of commodities from other parts of the world. Lincolnshire was also, however, a stage upon which an important part of Britain’s war policy was to be set. The men and women of Royal Air Force Bomber Command were to be the actors who would play out a role which would take the war to the very heart of Nazi Germany.³

Figure 1. Lancasters depart from Elsham Wold for a night raid on the Ruhr. Picture issued 1943. Imperial War Museum. CH.9029.

The Royal Air Force had a longstanding presence in Lincolnshire before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939 in that there existed a number of permanent bases. Many of those airfields are still with us, and include RAF Cranwell and RAF Scampton. In 1942 Bomber Command experienced a massive expansion of its offensive capacity with the building of a large number of new airfields – many of these were constructed in Lincolnshire. By 1945 there were nearly fifty Air Force stations, twenty-eight of which were bomber bases, more than in any other county (Figure 1). There are remnants of those old airfields still to be seen scattered every few miles across the Lincolnshire countryside. Some are now derelict, others are used for other purposes, a few are still used for aviation. Amongst those disused airfields are Ludford, Fiskerton, Faldingworth, Bardney, Metheringham - and the list goes on. Those which have found new uses include former RAF Kirmington which now operates as Humberside International Airport. Some such as East Kirkby, Wickenby, Metheringham, Hemswell have museums commemorating their role in the Second World War.

The unprecedented amount of airfield building which took place in the period around 1942 had an impact on the county of Lincolnshire in a variety of ways. The impressive thing is the speed at which these airfields were constructed. An operational airfield is much more than the building of runways and aircraft hangars. These were, in effect, small towns which covered areas of about 600 acres. It is estimated that in total the Lincolnshire airfields covered a staggering 30,000 acres. They required the infrastructure of a small town, including all the usual services of water supply, electricity, gas and sewerage disposal. Jack Currie, who was a Lancaster pilot with 12 Squadron based at RAF Wickenby, describes the bomber base as,

a little principality all of its own, its foreign policy was simple enough - attack Germany. That aside there was little that was tremendously exciting. A tiny state without elder statesmen - only the diversions of youth.⁴

The population for each of the RAF stations was in the thousands – comprising not just air-crew, but large numbers of ground crew and a myriad number of service personnel who contributed to the (fairly) smooth and efficient running of the base. Jack Currie eloquently recounts the numerous day-to-day tasks required in support of the squadron activities:

On the technical and flying sites of them all, bombs and pyrotechnics were stored, transported and hoisted into bomb-bays; thousands of rounds of .303 bullets were set in ammunition-trays and loaded into turrets; gun-sights were harmonised and bomb-sights levelled; petrol, oil and oxygen were piped into tanks and cylinders; parachutes, Mae Wests, dinghies and escape kits were scrupulously maintained; engines were overhauled, airframes patched and polished, and control-cables greased; hydraulic systems were bled and refurbished; compasses were swung and adjusted, radar sets and instruments were constantly serviced and re-calibrated… runways and taxi-tracks were swept, the systemsof flare-path lights, glim-lamps, lead-in lights, Chance lights, gooseneck flares and beacons were checked; fire-engines and ambulances were always at the ready, and Bofors guns were manned. In Station offices and on domestic sites, adjutants wrote letters for the CO’s signature to bereaved next-of-kin, dentists pulled teeth, doctors discouraged all forms of disability, chaplains led devotions and dispensed cocoa at de-briefings, clerks kept records, sentries did their duty, cooks did their worst, waitresses waited, batwomen batted, weather forecasters forecast, and orderlies fought their endless battles with disorder.⁵

At any one time there were in the region of 80,000 to 90,000 personnel accommodated on Lincolnshire airfields, which constituted a huge inflow of men and women into this predominantly rural county. These service men and women originated from throughout the nation, the ‘overseas dominions’, and occupied countries such as Poland. The air-crew of Bomber Command were largely young people in their late teens and early twenties. A few were even younger. Ted Cachart was just ‘fifteen and three quarters’ when he joined the RAF after ‘exaggerating’ his age. Whilst on active service and based at RAF Binbrook the Lancaster bomber, in which he was the radio operator, had a mid-air collision with another Lancaster over the target. He successfully parachuted into occupied territory and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp.

The impact on the life of Lincolnshire must have been fundamental. For instance, the demand for beer in favourite watering places such as the Saracen’s Head in Lincoln would have been huge. The airfield at Bardney, like others, had an effect on the local area ‘it did for the pubs, obviously. They really lapped it up. And the bus companies, there were one or two bus companies who did well…’⁶ The RAF stations were not completely self-contained and the ‘men (and women) stationed in them did not lead segregated lives.’⁷ Many of them had their own facilities, such as cinemas, gymnasia, NAAFI, and messes, but the off-site amenities, especially the pubs and cinemas of the nearest towns and villages were certainly an attraction which many service men and women preferred. The congregations of local churches were increased, and many attended and became involved in village functions. The young men also ‘courted’ local girls.⁸

Figure 2. RAF Wickenby – armourers at the Bomb Dump, 1945. RAF Wickenby Memorial Museum.

Figure 3. The Control Tower (Watch Office) RAF Wickenby c1943. RAF Wickenby Memorial Museum.

Figure 4. The Control Tower (Watch Office) as it is today. RAF Wickenby Memorial Museum.

Bill Brown recalls how, ‘at the time I was on operations, the average life was three weeks’. The chance of survival for aircrew, statistically, was about one in three – so it comes as no surprise that many young men developed a sense of ‘live for today’.

Campbell Muirhead was stationed at RAF Wickenby between 9 May and 19 August 1944, during which time he completed the thirty operations required to finish his tour of duty (Figures 2, 3 and 4). During that short, but intense period, he kept a diary which provides a fascinating insight into day to day life on a Lincolnshire Bomber Command air base. One of the early entries (10 May 1944), after recently arriving at Wickenby, states:

Have ascertained two interesting, but somewhat chilling, facts since I arrived here. The first is that, while the operational tour consists of 30 flights over Germany and/or Occupied Europe, the chances of survival are said to be about 30 per cent. Now isn’t that a cheerful and heart-warming note on which to get this diary under way…⁹

Figure 5. Engine startup, Lancaster ‘Just Jane’ at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby. Philip Swan.

On joining 12 Squadron at Wickenby in late June, 1943 Jack Currie, aged 22, from London noted that the week preceding his arrival at the station eight Lancasters had failed to return from missions, ‘…fifty six men had bled, burned and fallen to earth’.¹⁰ On returning from a raid on Germany to the skies of Lincolnshire did not mean the bomber crews were safe – there was always the risk of German ‘intruders’:

they used to come back with us. You would be coming down and you would get a call that there were ‘bandits. bandits’. You just imagine, you get somewhere in the region of 600 bombers milling around Lincolnshire… you’ve all got your lights on… so all the lights go off… there were mid-air collisions.¹¹

Overall, these were difficult and dangerous times for the aircrew of Bomber Command (Figure 5). Nevertheless, all the RAF personnel found their ‘distractions of youth’ wherever they could. The evenings when operations were cancelled would see large numbers of young men and women travelling to Lincoln by bus, car, train, bicycle, or on foot. There were special drinking places which Bomber Command veterans still hold in their affections! Those who did not make the trek to Lincoln might frequent local pubs – those stationed at RAF Binbrook The Marquis of Granby, or RAF Wickenby, The White Hart at Lissington. One evening in October 1944 there was a lull in operations caused by bad weather, and some of the RAF Fulbeck personnel decided to go off base for entertainment. After finding the local pubs closed at Brant Broughton, they went on to Beckingham where they had heard that two pubs were open and there was a dance.

The dance was a typical village effort, a small school room being the ‘floor’. but there were bags of partners such as they were. Lefty fiddled three eggs out of the raffle and we also got some apples, so we were quite happy.¹²

On-base drinking, and other social activities, would take place in the mess, with the consequence that ‘…each (mess) bill invariably seems higher than the previous one… I suppose we all are drinking that little bit more as the tour (of duty) progresses’. (Campbell Muirhead,¹³ June, 1944). Spirits would sometimes run high:

18th June 1944. Stood-down now … [due to bad weather]. So we had a mess ‘do’ last night. And after about three pints we decided that Vernon would perform the ‘black footprints’ effort. Vernon wasn’t all that enthusiastic… Anyway, we grab Vernon, remove his shoes. Someone fetches a basin into which we pour beer and, strictly according to recipe, mix thoroughly with soot from the ante-room chimney. Into the brew goes Vernon’s stockinged feet. Then Horsfall grabs him by one side while I do likewise the other. We lift him. Vernon now accepts the inevitable and jerks both his feet up. We then ‘walk’ him up one wall, across the ceiling and down the other wall leaving a dirty trail of black footprints.¹³

Gordon Stooke recalls that the first Australian accents to be heard in the pubs of Binbrook was at the end of April, 1943. This was when an advance party visited the base to make arrangements for the transfer of 460 Squadron, RAAF. from Breighton, near York.

Grimsby and Market Rasen were places to visit, but none so popular as The Marquis of Granby pub in Binbrook village. Rene Trevor ran The Marquis of Granby throughout the war. She was the licensee but found herself thrust into the role of ‘mother’ to hundreds of young Australian airmen. She sewed on buttons and new decorations, mended jackets and cooked meals for the young men who flew bombers from Binbrook between 1940 and 1945. The youngsters who flew those aircraft never forgot Rene Trevor.

The war and its impact on the home front had changed life in Britain in so many ways, and perhaps especially for women. Rene Trevor had a family history in the licensed trade when she was growing up - her father was licensee of The Crown Inn in Tealby for 43 years. Together with her husband she took on a pub in November 1939. When her husband was posted overseas to the Middle East, she continued to run The Marquis of Granby at Binbrook. Rene Trevor remembers the day the Australians moved in:

My