Thorpe Camp

Thorpe Camp stands in the Lincolnshire countryside, 4 kilometres southeast of the former RAF Woodhall Spa. It was built in 1940 as a Royal Air Force barracks with messes, a NAAFI canteen, ration store and ablution blocks. By the 1980s the site was derelict and overgrown, part of it absorbed into Carr Woods. The Woodland Trust’s plan to demolish the buildings led local people to form the Thorpe Camp Preservation Group. In 1994 the Visitor Centre opened as a memorial to the RAF and to civilian life in 1940s Lincolnshire. The centre preserves the Airman’s mess, NAAFI building, ablution block and ration store. Each room shows how the base operated during the Second World War. Display boards explain the work of the Air Training Corps, which trained young people for service. Squadrons once stationed at or linked to RAF Woodhall Spa are honoured with individual exhibits. Visitors walk through the restored buildings and see period fittings and photographs. A 1940s Weekend every July brings re-enactors with vintage vehicles, live music and dancing. The site offers a quiet space to remember the airfield’s history and the crews who flew from nearby stations.