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What better way to celebrate the day of my spiritual home's independence than wandering around a hospital that for the last decade of it's life was home to the United States Air Force?
Or at least so I thought. We rocked up and everything along the fence line looked sealed tight, however after an hour of walking around the perimeter, through woods and undergrowth we found what will probably go down as the tightest squeeze I've ever had to get through to gain access to a site and we were in.
I have wanted to see this place for years, it's been on my mental 'to do' list for a long time as I needed to see that enormous corridor for myself - a corridor so long that if you're stood at one end of you can't see the other end. Other than the corridors it's a bit samey but that is always the case with these era military structures, it just took me right back to exploring the school at RAF Upper Heyford. There are a number of other buildings on site that our rumbling stomachs dictated we wouldn't see, so I'd love to go back to finish the place off.
A little history...
We had a brief look at the hall on the way out, nothing left but a shell sadly but a beautiful ruin nonetheless.Or at least so I thought. We rocked up and everything along the fence line looked sealed tight, however after an hour of walking around the perimeter, through woods and undergrowth we found what will probably go down as the tightest squeeze I've ever had to get through to gain access to a site and we were in.
I have wanted to see this place for years, it's been on my mental 'to do' list for a long time as I needed to see that enormous corridor for myself - a corridor so long that if you're stood at one end of you can't see the other end. Other than the corridors it's a bit samey but that is always the case with these era military structures, it just took me right back to exploring the school at RAF Upper Heyford. There are a number of other buildings on site that our rumbling stomachs dictated we wouldn't see, so I'd love to go back to finish the place off.
A little history...
RAF Hospital Nocton Hall was a 740-bed RAF hospital serving the predominantly RAF personnel based at the large number of RAF Stations in the area. Officially designated as No. 1 RAF Hospital Nocton Hall it opened in June 1947. It was used by forces personnel, their families and local civilians until it closed on 31 March 1983.The hospital was situated the small village of Nocton in rural Lincolnshire and partly in the grounds of Nocton Hall. The Hall was used as the Officers' Mess. The main part of the hospital consisted of long corridors with wooden hut wards and departments branching off them. The hospital was on a slight slope so the corridors were not level.
In 1984 it was leased to the USAF as a United States Air Force wartime contingency hospital. During the Gulf War, over 1,300 US medical staff were sent to the Hall and many were billeted at RAF Scampton. Fortunately only 35 casualties had to be treated. In its later days 13 American personnel remained to keep the hospital serviceable. RAF Nocton Hall was handed back to Her Majesty's Government by the USAF on 30 September 1995 but has never been brought back into use as a hospital.
Expect epic levels of corridor pornage in this thread.
One of the wards, lots of these branched off the various corridors and all were exactly the same.
Thanks for looking, more here https://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157655445354211