A local councillor’s charity sleep-out to help homeless veterans chose a venue with military links and an appropriate twist – a ghostly airman.
South Kesteven District Council’s Armed Forces Champion Cllr Richard Dixon-Warren braved the ever-so-spooky Mannakin Hall near Fulbeck for his Great Tommy Sleep Out on Monday night.
It was part of the Royal British Legion Industries national campaign running during March to draw attention to and raise money for veterans sleeping rough.
Mannakin Hall is based in former mess dining buildings from former RAF Fulbeck, hosting both Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force 9th Troop Carrier Command during WW2.
Home to 20,000 costume mannequins, it has attracted paranormal enthusiasts thanks to suggestions of spectral presences on site, including a mysterious ghostly airman and sounds of chilling radio chatter echoing through the corridors.
Army veteran Cllr Dixon-Warren joined veterans of the Navy and RAF for the ‘spook out’. He said: “This is an intriguing place, one that has real military resonance and I thought it would be fascinating to see who or what might appear to us during the night.
“There is a supremely important message behind this, however, the plight of ex-servicemen who find themselves homeless. It’s a cause close to my heart and I want to raise as much money as I can to help.
“We didn’t get woken up by any spectral presence but it is certainly a place that gets your imagination going.”
Now Mannakin Hall founder and owner Roz Edwards has invited other Great Tommy Sleep Out fund-raisers to experience the hall at night with similar over-nighters during March.
To sponsor Richard: https://socialsync.app/fundraiser/cr-pz314my4d1kl
Richard Dixon-Warren (right) with RAF veteran Eddie Findlay and Royal Navy veteran Jason Roffey.