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Memorial garden plan for former WW2 base

Holly Phillips
BBC News
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust A narrow paved road surrounded by green trees under a bright blue sky. Sunlight shines through the leaves and the sky is blue. The road has overgrown edges.Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
The memorial garden would be built near the entrance to the former RAF Woodhall Spa base

A wildlife trust says it hopes to create a memorial garden at a former World War Two airfield.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust said the tribute would be built at the former base in Woodhall Spa.

It would feature artwork, the poem Furrows into Silence and tributes to wing commanders Guy Gibson and John Bell .

The RAF's 617 Squadron, known as the Dambusters for their daring raids on German dams in 1943, operated from RAF Woodhall Spa from January 1944 to May 1945.

The charity bought Woodhall Spa Airfield in 2014, and the former runway is now the focal point of a nature reserve.

Viv, who volunteers at the reserve, said: "I feel grounded when I go there, somehow linked to my childhood and to the world my parents lived in during the war."

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Volunteers of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust at the nature reserve. A group of eight people standing together in a grassy field. The sky is cloudy. They are wearing outdoor clothing, gloves and boots and are smiling at the camera. In front of them is a habitat pile made of logs, branches and turf. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
The trust has more than 1,000 volunteers who work across nearly 100 reserves

The new memorial garden would be located near the entrance of the reserve.

"Having a memorial garden close to the car park will give these visitors an opportunity to reflect, lay wreaths and enjoy the nature reserve without the long walk," a spokesperson for the trust said.

The trust has started a fundraising campaign to pay for the garden.

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