Six members of the Number One Control Centre regiment based at RAF Kirton Lindsey came to North County Primary School to meet the children. They made the visit to thank them for the 66 shoe boxed presents they sent over to the regiment for Christmas while they were out on a 90-day tour of Afghanistan. The RAF personnel show the children pictures of colleagues opening their presents and what conditions were like out in the desert country.
The idea came about from class teacher Laura Mann, whose husband and SAC (Senior Aircraftman) Carl is a member of the regiment, and was out with them over the festive period. She said: “I put the idea to my class and it started off really small and the next thing the whole school got involved as well as parents. “The children really got stuck in bringing in items to put in the boxes like chocolate, games and soap and they even helped me weigh and wrap them up ready to post out.
“It is really good that the guys have come back to the school to show the children how much they appreciated receiving the gifts on Christmas Day.” Flt Lieu Mark Gilmore who returned to Lincolnshire in January after his three-month stint said he wanted to say a big thanks you on behalf of all the members of the regiment. He said: “Words can’t express how grateful we were to receive the parcels on Christmas Day.
“Even though we managed to have a traditional lunch we were still on operation duties and it is our job at the end of the day and I, personally will not forget the smile the gifts brought.” The Number One Control Centre provides support to aircraft, helicopters and soldiers on the ground. The regiment has been out in the Middle East for around 15 months and is based at Camp Bastion in the Helmand Province, south of the country.