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RAF Grantham / RAF Spitalgate
RAF Grantham opened in November 1916. The site is often confused with RAF Grantham at St Vincents House which housed Headquarters 5 Group between 1937 and 1943. In 1944 The airfield was renamed RAF Spitalgate.
Flying continued between the wars and at the outbreak of the Second World War RAF Grantham was home to
No: 12 Flying Training School and continued as a training base throughout the war. A tradition which continued until 1975 when the airfield closed. Today the site is home to the Royal Logistics Corps Territorial Army Centre, Grantham
Squadrons stationed at RAF Grantham / RAF Spitalgate
- No: 12 Flying Training School. 1939 to April 1942
- No: 12 (Pilots) AFU 1 Apr 1942 to 8 Feb 1945
- HQ 5 Gp Comms Flt 1938 to 14 Nov 1943
- 1536 Beam Approach Training Flt. Mar 1943 to May 1945
- 17 SFTS. Mar 1945
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Those known to have served at RAF Grantham / RAF Spitalgate during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
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Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
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please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about RAF Grantham / RAF Spitalgate? There are:0 items tagged RAF Grantham / RAF Spitalgate available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Sgt. George Stanley Barclay 166 Squadron  New Zealander, Sergeant Pilot George Barclay joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 15th June 1941 and began his flying training in Tiger Moths at New Plymouth, New Zealand, on 6th September 1941. He left Auckland, NZ on 17th November 1941 on the SS Monterey and arrived in San Francisco on 5th December 1941. He then travelled by train to RCAF Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada where he joined No 44 Pilots course on 5th December 1941 to complete his flying training on Cessna Crane aircraft at No 4 SFTS. He arrived in UK on 13th May 1942 and joined Number 16 Course of 12 (P) Advanced Flying Unit (AFU) at RAF Grantham on 21st July 1942 where he flew Oxford Mk1 aircraft. The AFU course was completed on 15th September 1942 at which time he was posted to No 43 Course of 16 OTU at RAF Upper Heyford to fly the Wellington medium bomber. Having completed his training at 16 OTU on 23rd December 1942, he was posted to the Home Echelon of 150 Squadron to fly Wellingtons operationally from RAF Kirmington, Lincs, on 12th January 1943. In turn, the Home Echelon of 150 Squadron merged with the remains of 142 Squadron to form 166 Squadron on 27th January 1943. George flew with 166 Squadron until he baled out over Mezerolles, NW France, after an 'Op' on Duisburg on the night of 8th/9th of April 1943. He was a POW until escaping on 6th April 1945 and returned to UK on 17th of April 1945. George married a London girl on 16th of June 1945 and returned to New Zealand to raise a family. He turned 93 on 2nd May 2016.
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LAC. John Thomas "Ginger" Todd John Todd served in the RAF and was an LAC FCA during the 2nd World War. He was based at Inverness, Dalcross, Grantham, Pool, Lyneham, Ossington, Poole and Waddington. He lived at Hyson Green, Nottingham. Any further information please?
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Leslie "Taffy" Southcott 151 Advanced Repair Unit Leslie Southcott played football at Grantham, the team were 1943/1944 RAF champions.
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Bill Brown Bill Brown was based at RAF Grantham and with a Pathfinder unit flying Mosquitoes.
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