BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:79@historyfare.co.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260905T140000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260905T160000 DTSTAMP:20260110T194957Z URL:https://historyfare.co.uk/events/airborne-commando-general-tour-5/ SUMMARY:Airborne & Commando General Tour DESCRIPTION:\n\n\nDuring World War Two\, Melton Mowbray became home to ‘R ed Devils’ when hundreds of paratroopers made the town their home after returning to England from fighting in North Africa and Italy. Whilst in Me lton they were based at both the Vet Camp and local hosues/lodges in town whilst training for operations for D-Day and Arnhem.\n\nIn the early part of 1944\, No 156 Battalion Parachute Regiment set up base in Melton Mowbra y and used Staveley Lodge on Nottingham Road\, Newport Lodge on Scalford R oad and The Spinney on Thorpe Road as their billetts.\n\nPrior to World Wa r Two\, Newport Lodge was also the family home of the Laycock family and R obert\, one of the children\, became Major General Sir Robert Laycock KCMG \, CB\, DSO otherwise known as the Commando General and Commander of of th e Lay Force.\n\nThe 10th Battallion set up base around Somerby\, Burrough on the Hill and Twford and the 11th Battalion who were originally at Glen Parva near Leicester but moved to Melton in May 44 and set up base on the Vet Camp (Remount Depot).\n\nThese units made up the 4th Brigade and durin g their time in Melton\, the Paras trained for operation as part of the D- Day campiagn\, but due to changing circumstances in Normandy and the Allie d advacnce through France\, they were not used.\n\nTheir time finally came in September when they took part in Operation Market Garden and the Airbo rne landings at Arnhem in Holland.\n\nAfter Arnhem\, the survivors of 10\, 11 &\; 156 Battalions returned to their bases in the area. In December 1944\, the 1st Airborne Division was re-organised and the 4th Division an d 10\, 11 &\; 156 Battalions was disbanded.\n\nAs part of this re-organ isation\, No 3 Battalion Parachute Regiment came to Melton and set up base on the Vet Camp. In 1945\, the Melton Paras were sent to Copenhagen as pa rt of the force to Liberate Denmark from German Occupation.\n\nHistoryFare ’s #1 priority on the Airborne &\; Commando General Tour is guarantee ing you\, the valued customer a great tour. We feel confident that you’l l agree – taking part in a HistoryFare tour has been time well spent. If you don’t agree\, let us know. We’ll make it right by giving you a vo ucher for a future tour or your money back. We know your time is valuable and appreciate you choosing to spend it with us.\n\n\n\n\n\nDURATION\n\n12 0 minutes (2 Hours)\n\nMEETING LOCATION\n\nOutside Sainsbury’s Supermark et\, Nottingham Road\, Melton Mowbray\, LE13 0UL\n\nFINISH LOCATION\n\nThe Market Square.\n\nMAX GROUP SIZE\n\n20\n\nWHEEL CHAIR ACCESSIBLE\n\nYes\n \nASSISTANCE DOGS\n\nAssistance dogs as well as well behaved pets are welc ome on the tours.\n\nWHAT’S INCLUDED?\n\n Professional Guide\n Walking tour through the historic market town of Melton Mowbray\, visiting key lo cations associated with the towns rich and diverse history.\n Discount Vo uchers for local café’s &\; businesses \;\n\nWHAT’S NOT INCLUD ED\n\n Gratuities\n Water\n\nWHAT TO BRING\n\n Comfortable walking shoe s\n Wet weather clothing/umbrellas\n\nCANCELLATION POLICY\n\nCancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund or a voucher for a future to ur. We know that plans can sometimes change and that’s why we offer a ge nerous cancellation policy.\n\n\n\n\nTOUR OVERVIEW\n\nAs part of this  \;Airborne Tour\, we will visit some of the locations in Melton Mowbray us ed by the Paras as billets\, for training and where the enjoyed downtime r elaxing when off duty.\n\nBOOK WITH CONFIDENCE\n\nExplore in confidence wi th HistoryFare.\n\nBook directly with HistoryFare to get the best price on our tours. \; If you find it cheaper within 3 days of booking\, we’ ll refund the difference.\n\nIMPORTANT\n\nWhilst we do accept walk-up part icipants\, HistoryFare Tours regularly sell out. To avoid missing out and to get your preferred choice of tour date\, we highly recommend booking no w.\n\nHistoryFare’s Accessibility Promise\n\nHistoryFare is committed to making travel more inclusive for everyone. Clear\, honest information abo ut accessibility is provided wherever required.\n\nThe guided walks are de signed to provide a step free access or alternative locations to ensure al l points of interest can be enjoyed by all wherever possible.\n\nParking f acilities\, step-free access\, senior-friendly routes\, and accessible att ractions are all taken into consideration when developing a HistoryFare gu ided tour.\n\nWe listen to customers feedback and continuously improve our services to better serve all travellers. If you have a question about acc essibility issues\, then please get in touch to see how we can help.\n\nMO BILITY HIRE\n\nIf you need to hire a mobility scooter or a wheel chair to enable you to access HistoryFare Tours\, these are available for hire from  \;ShopMobility Melton Mowbray\, subject to a small hire charge and av ailability. Please visit their website for contact details.\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://historyfare.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/202 4/05/horsa002.jpg CATEGORIES:Guided Tour,Local History,Melton Mowbray,Military History,Parachute Regiment,Walking Tour,WW2 LOCATION:Sainsbury's Supermarket\, Nottingham Road\, \, Melton Mowbray\, \, Leicestershire\, LE13 0UL.\, United Kingdom X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Nottingham Road\, \, Melton Mowbray\, \, Leicestershire\, LE13 0UL.\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=1 00;X-TITLE=Sainsbury's Supermarket:geo:0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260329T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR