One of a large number of Ernesettle streets to be named after a Second World War air base, Digby Grove honours an RAF station in Lincolnshire.
RAF Digby is reputed to be one of the oldest stations still in use by the Force – over the years there have been several sightings and reports of ghostly goings-on. An officer wheeling a bicycle has been seen by many people, voices have been heard when there was no one home and lights have been seen on when there has been no power to the building.
Popular with tourists, thanks to its wartime operations room being painstakingly recreated here, Digby was home, in 1944, to the then newly combined 442 Fighter Squadron, recently re-equipped with Spitfires, and 144 Fighter Wing, which was then commanded by Squadron Leader James E “Johnny” Johnson, the great WWII flying ace. The principal object of Digby’s fighter pilots was to intercept raids over Lincolnshire and the east coast.
