Arnhem event will transform village near Grantham

Folkingham will be turning back the clock in September with a special 80th anniversary commemoration of the WW2 Arnhem milestone – Operation Market Garden

The Aveland History Group is staging Folkingham Remembers Operation Market Garden over the weekend of 14th/15th September against a stunning Georgian architectural village backdrop.

Folkingham’s American airborne heritage will be honoured, when, in 1944, its local airfield was occupied by more than 2000 men of the United States Army Air Force 313th Troop Carrier Group.

Vehicles will be on display in Folkingham

The US Army’s 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment and other elements of the US 82nd “All American” Airborne Division flew from Folkingham to the Netherlands for the battle of Arnhem, commemorated in the film “A Bridge Too Far”.

The village will be transformed with wartime enactors, children’s theatre, entertainers, demonstrations, children’s activities, exhibitions and talks, vintage vehicles, market traders and food – some from a WW2 Ration Card!

Throughout the village there will be an Art Trail created from artworks gathered from local community groups such as Folkingham Art Group; Dementia Support South Lincs; Westfield School; Beaver and Brownie troops and a kids art day at Low Farm Park.

The FREE event is an opportunity to experience life in 1944, honouring British wartime retained services and Land Army girls along with our Allied guests.

For those wishing to find out more about the people and events that affected Folkingham during this unique period of its history, there will be a varied FREE lecture programme.

Organisers are delighted that they have secured speakers with a range of detailed knowledge, including two daughters of men who served – a paratrooper and a glider pilot – who flew from Folkingham. They will be joined by a group of Swedish Paratroopers who are restoring one of the Dakota C-47 planes that flew its many missions from this airfield.

Cllr Richard Dixon-Warren, SKDC Armed Forces Champion, said “It;s great to see the district’s 1944 wartime role being celebrated by The Aveland History Group.

Arnhem saw the largest single airlift of troops and supplies in any theatre of war, and the skies above South Kesteven would have been thick with American C-47 aircraft, ferrying men and equipment to battle. It promises to be a great weekend”.

The event is part funded by South Kesteven District Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, as well as Folkingham Parish Council and many generous donations from local businesses.

The Aveland History Group is a community group celebrating the area of the ancient Aveland Wapentake, covering more than 30 villages from Osbournby to Bourne. Our mission is to bring to vibrant life the extraordinary part our area has played in world and local history.