Members of our Gardening Club loved planting special tulip bulbs in the school grounds last week as part of the Airborne Tulip Memorial Trail.

The originator of the Trail is Darren Kaye and it is in memory of his grandfather who parachuted into the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 at the age of 19, but was then taken as a prisoner of war, something that affected his whole life.  Although our service men and women are commemorated on Remembrance Day, Darren wanted to honour the memories of all the brave men at Arnhem by creating a living memorial that would also further enhance the special relationship with the Netherlands.

He decided on a Tulip Memorial Trail, using a maroon tulip, 'Atilla Graffiti', that is close to colour of the 'Red Beret' worn by the British airborne forces and a 'family member' of the Poppy. The bulbs are planted close to Remembrance Day in November, ready to flower for the Liberation Day celebrations in May. Since its inception in the Netherlands, Airborne Tulip Memorials have been planted around the UK including The Royal Chelsea Hospital, Merville Barracks in Colchester and The National Arboretum. It is hoped ten thousand bulbs will be planted in 2024.

Our area has a special connection to the Trail as Darren's grandfather was in the 1st Airborne Division who trained with allied paratroopers from America and Poland and then flew into the battle from the Barkston Heath and Saltby Airfields close to Grantham. Keen to commemorate this, bulbs have been donated to a number of local organisations via SKDC's ‘Soldiers from the Sky’ project. The first bulbs were planted in the Grantham’s Heroes Commemorative Orchard with more going into Wyndham Park, Grimsthorpe Castle, Harlaxton Manor and village churchyards. We are very proud to join the Trail.