Researchers

Banner image interviewing RAF Regiment veteran Kenneth Thorndale (right) and his son.

National Trust volunteers comprise the the Belton House Research Group. Together with National Trust staff we decided to commemorate in 2017 the 75th anniversary of the formation of the RAF Regiment at the Belton Park Camp, the Depot. Other than use of the Internet, our researchers have examined contemporary newspaper articles, the Lincolnshire Archives, Grantham Library, the Imperial War Museum and the RAF Regimental Museum at RAF Honington. Additionally, we held 2 open days for former members of the Regiment and others to tell us about their experiences of the Regiment and the Belton Depot.

The Grantham Journal and other newspapers provided information on the Depot. Transcripts of their wartime columns are available here. However, wartime secrecy meant that non-official press releases were confined primarily to sporting fixtures. The Lincolnshire papers contain very little about everyday life on the camp and even photographs of the Regiment in Grantham are non-existent. The researchers welcome any additional information that a reader might have about that 1942 to 1946 period (see email below).

Our particular thanks goes to Christopher Finn for providing us with the material he found researching in the National Archives & at RAF Honington. This turned up a detailed map of the site. His photographic records of the remaining Depot buildings of 2006 reveal their ongoing partial destruction when compared to 2017. We also thank Cheryl Miller for her input.

More information about Barkston Heath in WW2 is avaikble at Heritage of Flight - Airfields of South Lincolnshire.

Web site author: Ian Ross

Email contact: Beltongraffiti16@gmail.com