On this Airborne and Commando General tour of Melton Mowbray we step back to the Second World War and look at how the town became home to hundreds of paratroopers as they trained for D-Day and Arnhem.
In the early part of 1944, No 156 Battalion Parachute Regiment set up base in Melton Mowbray. They used Staveley Lodge on Nottingham Road, Newport Lodge on Scalford Road and The Spinney on Thorpe Road as their billetts.
Prior to World War Two, Newport Lodge was also the family home of the Laycock family. Robert, one of the children, became Major General Sir Robert Laycock KCMG, CB, DSO otherwise known as the Commando General and Commander of of the Lay Force.
The 10th Battallion set up base around the villages of Somerby, Burrough on the Hill and Twford. The 11th Battalion who were originally at Glen Parva near Leicester moved into Melton in May 44 and set up base on the Vet Camp (Remount Depot).
The Friends of the Tenth is a registered charity that is committed to perpetuating the memory and legacy of the brave men of the 10th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment so that their part in history shall never be forgotten. They have produced an excellent guided trail around the sites of Somerby, Burrough Hill and Thorpe Satchville plus other locations connected to the 10th. The trail guide can be purchased from their website via here: Friends of the Tenth Trail
These units made up the 4th Brigade and during 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 Allied advance through France, they were not used.
Their time finally came in September when they took part in Operation Market Garden and the Airborne landings at Arnhem in Holland.
After 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 along with 10, 11 & 156 Battalions were disbanded.
As part of this re-organisation, 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 part of the force to Liberate Denmark from German Occupation.
As part of this Airborne and Commando General Tour, we will visit some of the locations in Melton Mowbray used by the Paratroopers as billets, for training and where they enjoyed downtime relaxing when off duty.
Duration
120 minutes (2 Hours)
For the full list of current tour dates, see the events page by clicking here.
Tour Meeting Point: Outside Sainsbury’s Supermarket, Nottingham Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 0UL.
For full Terms & Conditions, please click here.
The Airborne and Commando General Tour can also be booked as a private tour so if this is something your are interested in, please send an email to meltonhistoryfare@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
