On 23rd April 2013, a beautifully sunny Tuesday evening, 110 residents of Mundford were treated to a tour of the Stanford Training Area. With only a small number of tours arranged each year, demand from residents had been high and two coaches, with guides, took us around the area. Around 30,000 acres in size, it was established in 1942 through the evacuation of the villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts. Virtually every soldier who crossed over to France on D-Day would have been through Stanta at some point. Since then, those serving in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan have followed. £366 was raised for the STANTA charities, and just a sample of resident comments are shown below.
“Fiona and I just wanted to say a big thanks to you and the council for the tour last Tuesday evening. We thoroughly enjoyed it and found the whole experience very informative. It gave us an insight into what’s happening on our doorstep and helps us to understand what all the noise is about when they are practising live manoeuvres. If possible, please pass on our thanks to Mez and all who allowed us to visit the site.” Sam & Fiona Peate
“Dear Fran, just wanted to say how much Dave and I enjoyed the trip around the Battle Area, and we learned such a lot. Please pass on our thanks to the Officer (Mez?) for his clear and detailed history and descriptions of the area. A great trip, thank you.” Dave and Jennie Warren
“We just wanted to say “Thank you” to you and everyone else who arranged last night’s STANTA tour. It was really interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed it.” Liz & Colin Clifford
“Thank you for facilitating the superb visit to STANTA. We both learnt so much and enjoyed an evening with fellow villagers.” Sally & Tony Rode.
View a pdf of this report and more images of STANTA from the archive.
28th October 2013, a further 22 images have been added to the archive.