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There was great excitement in Bourne during the
summer of 1939, firstly because the Lincolnshire Agricultural Show was
held here and secondly because the guest of honour was Prince George, Duke
of Kent, the king’s younger brother, and so it turned out to be a royal
occasion.
The show was held over three days in June at a 60-acre farmland site
alongside the A15 north of the town where there was a massive array of
stands, animal pens, marquees and car parking. The Duke’s visit was
scheduled for the first day when he arrived by plane at RAF Wittering
accompanied by his equerry, Lord Herbert.
A police escort accompanied the royal party as it motored to Bourne with
hundreds of people lining the route to see him pass and as he arrived at
the showground in bright sunshine and drove down the main avenue, the band
of the Metropolitan Police played the National Anthem amid cheers from the
crowd, many of them children who had been given the day off school to
attend. Despite the muddy conditions underfoot caused by a period of heavy
rain, the duke toured the show accompanied by an excited group of boys
anxious to get a closer look at the royal visitor who can be seen here on
the right.
The visit was among the last of the duke’s public engagements before the
outbreak of the Second World War three months later and in 1942 he lost
his life in a plane crash while serving with the RAF. |
