Soldiers from the Sky Exhibition
As editor director of Legends I was invited to spend a day at Grantham House in Lincolnshire for the Soldiers from the Sky exhibition, an event created to raise awareness of the tense, meticulous build-up to D-Day and the later airborne efforts of Operation Market Garden. The setting itself, with the house’s quiet gardens and its long connection to military history in the county, gave the whole experience a sense of stepping back into the weeks and hours before some of the most ambitious operations of the war.
What struck me immediately was how personal and human the exhibition felt. Instead of merely presenting information, it walked visitors through the emotions, risks and scale of the airborne preparations. A specially assembled video, containing clips that had never before been shown publicly, offered a rare window into the atmosphere in the camps and airfields where men trained, waited and wondered what lay ahead. These fragments of film—paratroopers adjusting equipment, gliders being inspected, officers studying maps—carried a rawness that no textbook or documentary could quite match.
Supporting the exhibition were staff from the Imperial War Museum who had travelled up with a collection of airborne memorabilia. These items, many handled and used by the men who took part, helped bring the wider story into focus. Parachute harnesses, glider instruments, and personal kit laid out on tables invited close scrutiny and reminded everyone just how demanding these operations were on both the equipment and the individuals who relied on it. The IWM experts were generous with their time, answering questions, explaining the background of each item, and adding small details that made the history feel tangible.
One of the most fascinating displays was a detailed wartime plan showing the airfields of Lincolnshire and their roles in the lead-up to major airborne actions. Seeing the network of runways spread across the county emphasised how vital Lincolnshire had been as a strategic hub, its quiet farmland transformed into a launchpad for historic missions. That map proved more than a talking point; it inspired us to visit one of the nearby runways later the same day, a trip that deserves its own full write-up and will be covered in a separate article.
The exhibition at Grantham House achieved something rare: it blended education, storytelling and reflection without ever feeling heavy. It was a day spent among people determined to preserve the truth of what happened and the bravery of those who stepped into the sky in the name of liberation. For me, it offered fresh perspectives, unexpected insights and a renewed appreciation for the airborne forces whose actions still echo across Lincolnshire’s landscape.
