Walker, Ensign Robert MacKinder and drill-master Sergeant Thomas Ward. In 1889 the Rifle Volunteer Corps, renamed as F Company of the First Volunteer Battalion, was based in Spilsby. Its commandant was the now-promoted Major George Walker. He was aided by Lt G. B. Walker and Lt W. Hoff, Acting Surgeon Lieutenant Francis John Walker and the acting chaplain Rev. Pownoll Kendall. In 1899 Spilsby's Territorial Force Drill Hall was completed in Halton Road, built of solid red brick. The site also contained housing and quarters for the resident professional army sergeant instructors. In 1912, C Company of the 5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment (Territorial Force) was formed in the town. The company's commandant was Captain H. S. Scorer (killed in action at Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 during the First World War), Surgeon Colonel Francis John Walker was the chief medical officer, and the regular army drill instructor was Colour Sergeant Wallace Cowling. Royal Air Force in Spilsby During the Second World War, RAF Spilsby, a bomber airfield designed for Lancaster bombers, was built at Great Steeping. It opened for operations on 20 September 1943. Later used by the United States Air Force as a strategic bomber base until 1958, the airfield was finally demolished in the late 1970s. The runways and perimeter track were torn up, with most of the crushed aggregate being used in the construction of the new Humber Bridge. RAF Spilsby is commemorated by an airfield memorial standing just outside Great Steeping and by plaques in All Saints' Church, Great Steeping. Cropmarks showing the airfield's runway layout are still visible in aerial photographs. Spilsby Air Training Corps formed in 1950 initially as a detached flight of the established Skegness squadron, becoming the 2266 Spilsby Squadron ATC in 1952. Falling membership resulted in the squadron's disbandment in 2005. RAF Spilsby was rebuilt in the 1950s as a standby base in case of war. It was designated as a standby base for escort fighters only and never used, and there is no record of any aircraft ever landing here. The new runway was weak because of drainage problems. Governance Spilsby parish was traditionally in the East division of the ancient Bolingbroke Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey. The parish was also in the Bolingbroke Soke. Kelly's 1913 Directory of Lincolnshire places the parish in the South Lindsey division of the county. Spilsby, governed