Wigsley is the smallest of a trio of settlements (along with Thorney and Harby) which together form a small Nottinghamshire enclave which juts out into the neighbouring county of Lincolnshire. First officially recorded in William the Conqueror’s Doomsday Book of 1086, the meaning behind the place-name ‘Wigsley’ suggests that the village’s roots go back even further. Derived from the Anglo Saxon personal name of Wicg and the Old English term lēah, Wigsley actually means ‘the woodland clearing of a man called Wicg’. Wigsley’s more recent history holds points of interest which relate to both of the previous century’s world wars. The village had the good fortune not to lose a single man to the otherwise devastating conflict of the First World War and thus holds the distinction of being a Thankful Village, a term first popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in his 1936 guide to England, Enchanted Land. The Second World War saw the construction of the RAF Wigsley Aerodrome along with its uniquely designed three-story control tower (a building which just about survives to this day). Used primarily for training heavy bomber air crews, over the course of the war the base was home to various types of bombers, including Hampdens, Manchesters, Stirlings, and the famous Lancasters. Upon the cessation of hostilities, for a short time RAF Wigsley was put to use as a Displaced Persons’ Camp housing mainly Eastern European refugees. The village does not have its own church, pub, shop or playing field, and with its somewhat linear development, it lacks a natural place where residents can gather easily. Even so, the recent emergence of the Community Led Plan project within the village has seen the coming together of many residents keen to cooperate on the shared endeavour of making where they live a better place. As a result, a renewed sense of community and connection with others does now seem to be growing within the village.
