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The British Tommy at war & open evening event at Thorpe Camp

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Shippo
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 11:43 pm

The British Tommy at war & open evening event at Thorpe Camp

Post by Shippo » Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:01 pm

The army that fought the First World War was perhaps the greatest collective endeavour that Britain has ever seen. Five million men were mobilised. There was the regular army, volunteers and conscripts. From all walks of life there were bank clerks, tram drivers, mill workers and farmers were transformed into gunners, signallers, army cooks and tank drivers. Even towns and villages sent their "boys" to the Front to confront the Hun.
The term "Tommy Atkins" was used quite widely, and indeed rather contemptuously, in the mid 19th century. Nowadays the term ‘Tommy’ is more often associated with the soldiers of World War One and is used with affection and respect for their bravery and heroism, much as Wellington had in mind when he suggested the name back in 1815. Harry Patch, who died aged 111 in 2009, was known as the “Last Tommy” because he was the last surviving British soldier who fought in Great War. To the public during the war which was supposed to end all wars, the British soldier who fought in the trenches became centre-stage depicting the terrible war through the letters, dairies and memories of those who fought through it.

In conjunction with with the First World War Centenary Partnership and the Imperial War Museum using the title of MUSEUMS AT NIGHT, Thorpe Camp, part of former RAF Woodhall Spar, is presenting an illustrated talk by architect, Military and Historian author MICHAEL CREDLAND who is well versed in the conflict of World War One. His subject is TOMMY GOES TO WAR.

Mike was responsible for the design of the figure of the First War Tank now sighted on the Tritton Road round about,Lincoln.

He was also engaged with the design of the memorial to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment who were based at the former Sobraon Barracks on Burton Road, Lincoln which has a military history going back to 1857, and when in tacked before most of the buildings were demolished to make way for a housing development, the barracks buildings represented the growth and development of military provision in the county in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the impact of mass mobilisation in World Wars One and Two which was easily detectable in the fabric of the different buildings that once stood.

Mike's talk with begin at 7.30pm on Saturday, 28th October 2017 at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall Thorpe, LN4 4PL. Admission is £5.00. Refreshments are available. It is followed by an evening opening of The Visitor Centre between 8.30pm and 10.00pm. The Centre is a tribute to RAF Woodhall Spar and whose buildings were part of the airfield made famous by 617 Squadron, 619 Squadron, 97 (Straits Settlements) Squadron, and 627 Squadron whose aircraft flew to and from the runways.

It must be mentioned also about Wing Commander Guy Gibson who with his navigator Squadron Leader Jim Warwick, flew in a 627 Squadron de Havilland Mosquito from RAF Woodhall Spa on a mission but failed to return with both being killed after their aircraft crashed. Gibson was only 26 years old!

It is an event not to be missed due to not only keeping the memory alive of the soldiers who gave their lives for King and Country between 1914 to 1918 but to the aircrew and ground crew who served at RAF Woodhall Spa, one of many airfields in the Bomber County of Lincolnshire.

For details and tickets telephone 01526 342249

John Shipton
FOMA
Lincoln

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