Westow - Westow in Wartime

Westow in Wartime

• A community cross commemorates Westow villagers who gave their lives in the First World War;
• During the Second World War Kirkham Priory was used for large scale trials of D-Day wading and amphibious vehicles by the British Army and was visited secretly by Winston Churchill and King George VI;
• Women's Land Army (WLA) civilians were billeted in Westow during the Second World War;
• During the Second World War bombs were dropped close to Firby Hall by a German aircraft;
• In October 1942 a German Aircraft (Junkers Ju 88A from 7/KG4) was hit by ground defence fire during a low level attack on Driffield aerodrome. It crash landed on Richmond Farm, Duggleby with one fatality;
• A Halifax Bomber crashed on a training flight near Greets Farm, Welburn in 1942;
• A P-51 Mustang crashed at Fotherdale Farm near Thixendale in 1945;
• Many evacuees from Hull which was heavily bombed during the Second World War, were housed with Westow families.