D-Day Commemorative Walks

Imagine walking in the footsteps of American paratroopers who were among the first on the ground in the 1944 D-Day invasion of Europe.

Join us for one of our hosted walks at the atmospheric RAF North Witham, now Forestry England owned Twyford Wood near Colsterworth.

Hear about the US Pathfinder troops who flew from here to spearhead the Allied invasion, all part of South Kesteven District Council’s Soldiers from the Sky project made possible by Lottery players.

It was from North Witham, on the eve of D -Day that aircraft of America’s 9^th Troop Carrier Command carried elite Pathfinder paratroopers from the US Army’s 101^st and 82 Airborne Divisions behind enemy lines in advance of the main taskforce.

You will see photos of the men who blazed a trail into Europe for their Airborne brothers, as well as the special equipment they used.

Be guided around the airfield’s still intact runways and hear how, at precisely 9.54pm (Double British Summer Time) on 5 June 1944, the first of 20 Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft took off carrying elite American Pathfinder troops, skimming the channel at 50ft to fly under enemy radar on their way to Normandy.

The walk lasts around two and a half hours.  It starts at 5.30pm from the main Twyford Wood car park, off the A151 Colsterworth to Bourne Road.

On this day 81 years ago, C-47s were parked and readied on the airfield ‘spectacle’ hardstands – still visible today. Anyone joining this walk will experience walking the exact runway from which the first Dakota C-47s took off exactly 81 years before on their critical eve of D-Day mission. Col Joel Crouch piloted the first aircraft, with Captain Frank Lillyman on board, confident that the crews and Pathfinder paratroopers following behind were as ready as they could ever be to spearhead an invasion like no other.

          Pathfinder Crew ready for Normandy