War book author helped to revive famous Skegness-to-Horncastle Walk race

‘Victory In Horncastle’, organised by the town’s history and heritage society, is running at the Joseph Banks Centre on Bridge Street every Thursday, Friday and Saturday (10 am to 4 pm) until June 8.

And complementing it is a revived book, ‘Horncastle At War’, which tells the story of the town during the Second World War, as seen through the eyes of a young boy.

Now the society has managed to unearth more information about the author of the book, Len Blades, a local man who wrote it 30 years ago.

Adam Cartwright, a member of the society, has kindly submitted this piece, which reveals that Len was a major inspiration behind the revival of the famous Skegness-to-Horncastle Walk event between 1964 and 1999.

Adam writes: "Les Blades’s book, out now, tells the story of our town in wartime, as he saw it, aged nine years old. But there’s much more to Len than memories of World War Two, as we’ve been finding out.

“How do you fancy a walking race from Skegness to Horncastle? That was the question back in 1964 when a popular annual challenge was revived. And Len and his wife, Pat, played a large part in putting the walk back in the calendar.

“The 22-mile event had first been staged back in 1903, with entry limited to the citizens of Horncastle. The course over the Wolds was hard work, over gritty and dusty roads which soon took their toll on feet and footwear.

"Although we complain about the state of the roads now, they were much worse back then. The winning time in 1903 was three hours and 55 minutes, a real achievement given the conditions.

“After a 20-year gap, the walk returned between 1923 and 1933. While still popular, it ended because it was difficult to raise funds for prize money.

“That seemed to be that -- until Len and others stepped in. After the war, he’d become a PE teacher, while Pat also taught in a local school. Along with Bill Taylor, they also ran the Woodhall Spa Youth Club in their spare time.

"In 1964, the three of them were looking for a new challenge for young people in the area, and hit on the idea of getting the walk going again.

“It was an instant success. Staged that October, to avoid holiday traffic, 103 people took part, including four veterans of the old walks more than 30 years previously.

“The revived walk quickly became very popular, with a range of cups on offer in several categories.

"It didn’t just appeal to young people either. Billy Balderson first took part in 1930, aged 19. He was still going 55 years later, managing a time of four hours, 20 minutes.

"The all-time record for the walk was held by Dave Thomas, with a time of three hours, 11 minutes in 1987.

“And Len Blades, microphone in hand, welcomed them all to Horncastle Market Place as the official announcer.

“Sadly, the costs of organisation, especially policing the event, slowly increased to the point that staging it became unviable, despite its continuing popularity, and the final walk took place in 1999. Len was there to the bitter end.

"Len doesn’t get about so well these days, but his book is a tribute to a long career. It is available, priced £7.50, from the Joseph Banks Centre.”

Meanwhile, the exhibition continues to be well received by visitors. Featuring items of information, photos and memorabilia, donated by Horncastle residents, it is a snapshot of local life during wartime and how victory was celebrated in the town.