Ingham, Lincolnshire

All Saints Church, Ingham

Ingham is a sleepy village in the English county of Lincolnshire, in the district of West Lindsey. It is located 14km north of Lincoln on a back road, the B1398, which runs parallel to the main A15 (Ermine Street).

Ingham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Possible etymologies are "homestead or village of a man called Inga" or "home of the Inguiones" (an ancient Germanic tribe).

It was rudely awoken by World War Two when it became a satellite airfield to Royal Air Force base in Hemswell. It consisted of 3 grass runways, and two Polish Squadrons (including Polish 300th Bomber Command) from 1st Polish Wing were based here, joined later by No. 199 Squadron RAF. In 1944 it was renamed RAF Cammeringham. The station effectively became unusable by 1945 as the grass runways had deteriorated too far for safe landings by heavy bombers such as the Avro Lancaster.

After the war, demobilised Polish aircrew lived here, and eventually Ingham returned to the sleepy solitude it had enjoyed since Domesday.