Normanby Hall's First World War records offer a moving glimpse into Lincolnshire's past

In North Lincolnshire, a country house better known for its parkland and grand interiors is also home to a remarkable record of the First World War. Normanby Hall, near Scunthorpe, served as an auxiliary hospital during the conflict, providing a place of recovery for wounded servicemen far from the noise and destruction of the front. Now, ahead of the hall's first Armed Forces Festival, the archive is drawing fresh attention to a chapter of Lincolnshire history that might otherwise have faded from view. At the heart of that story is an extraordinary collection of documents preserved by North Lincolnshire Museums, which manages the hall.

Among them are notes, poems and drawings gathered by nurse Clara Spilman, as well as a detailed hospital register described as especially valuable because of the depth of information it contains. The records show that 1,248 wounded soldiers from Britain and allied forces were treated at Normanby Hall between 19 November 1914 and 10 January 1919. Every man who passed through was carefully logged by Ernest Dain, the household clerk, with names, ranks, service numbers and regiments all recorded. For Lincolnshire readers, it is a striking reminder that the county's role in wartime was not limited to those who left home to fight.

Places here were also drawn directly into the work of care, convalescence and recovery. In Normanby Hall's case, the ground floor of the 19th Century mansion was turned over to injured soldiers, while the ballroom became what was known as the 1914 Ward. The hall's owners, Lady Julia Sheffield and Sir Berkeley Sheffield, are presented in the archive as active supporters of the wartime effort and of the men recovering there. Records note, for example, that Lady Sheffield managed to secure larger supplies of tobacco and cigarettes for patients.

The contrast at the centre of the story is a powerful one. Men arrived from the violence of the battlefield to a quiet Lincolnshire estate where they could begin to heal, physically and mentally. One pencilled message in the memory book captures that feeling in just a few words: "Silence is golden." The archive also helps trace individual lives. One soldier highlighted in the collection is Frederick William Brush, a gardener from Gloucestershire who served with the 1st Worcestershire Regiment.

After being shot in the chest in June 1915, he spent a month at Normanby Hall before returning to service. Wounded again later in the war, he was eventually discharged, having suffered multiple gunshot injuries and the loss of his right arm. The records show he later married, had four children and worked on a farm. As interest grows in local history across Lincolnshire, Normanby Hall's wartime archive offers something rare: not just a broad account of the war years, but a detailed human record of recovery, resilience and the county's quiet place in a global conflict.

This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.