Woodhall Spa Outstation

Stan Judson from the Royal Signals recalled servicing the set in Woodhall Spa. It particularly stuck in his mind because it had been built below an outhouse used to house the owner's Red Setter dog. Every time they visited the dog would escape and they would have to coax it back in while trying to avoid being noticed by anyone. This station was of the early box type, where the set was buried in a metal lined wooden box with a concealed cover. The dog had his bed on top of the cover which provided a good way to avoid accidental discovery.

This shed was against a garage, which formed the boundary of the garden of its operator, the local doctor. The Army then decided that they would install an anti aircraft unit in the area, using the garage for storage of the guns. The unit cook used the base of the nearby tree for chopping his wood. Unfortunately the aerial for the wireless set ran up this tree, which was outside the garden and it was cut, rendering the set useless. Stan Judson had to sneak over the fence when nobody was looking to recover the aerial from the tree. A replacement was installed in another tree in the doctor's garden.

Their problems were not over as one day in heavy rain, the guttering on the old garage failed, allowing water to pour into the shed and the box was filled with water. At this point the set was moved inside the house.

All was well until the Germans decided to bomb Woodhall Spa and quite by chance, the doctor's house was destroyed. This was 17 Aug 1943 and the device, a huge parachuted land mine, caused substantial devastation. Dr Armour's wife was seriously injured and his children trapped. The bench on which they had endured awaiting rescue was used by Dr Armour in his surgery for many years, as he considered it a talisman. Dr Armour was reported to be away in Scotland at the time. His son told Stan Judson many years later how his father had been very anxious that the Police might discover the set in the ruins before he had a chance to retrieve it.

It is not known where the set was moved to after this. Dr Armour moved to a rented property with another family that worked for him. 

The house was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished and was subsequently rebuilt. It is the site of the current Tasburgh Lodge Surgery.