Stanwix Holiday Park gives lodge for forces families to enjoy free holidays in Silloth

• ITV Border's Alice Neil went along to meet some of the people involved with the project

A holiday park in Cumbria has handed over the keys for a new lodge so military families can spend time together.

Stanwix Holiday Park in Silloth has been offering free holidays to military families from Catterick Garrison for the last six years.

They have now handed over the keys to a new lodge for the Garrison to use whenever they want, allowing families to spend time together away from the busy barracks.

Charlotte Salter and Darren Lloyd spent a week with their family at the park.

Darren said the break has been an opportunity for them to spend time together and "recharge and rest".

He said: "Personally with what's going on, you're always away from your families.

"It's time together as a family."

Charlotte added: "Even though it's not a million miles away to travel, it does feel like a different world to come to the holiday park and everything that they put on for everybody here.

"It feels like a little escape from everyday life and the crazy business of the garrison."

What started as a random act of kindness from a stranger has helped hundreds of military personnel.

Taxi driver Raymond Telford has been going to the holiday park with his daughter Courtney for the last twenty years.

He was inspired to do something to help after meeting a soldier with PTSD he picked up from the Garrison.

"I was taxi driving down in Catterick and I met a gentleman with PTSD and I was having a conversation with him on the way to Brompton," he said.

"As I dropped him and his family off, I realised how difficult things were for him and his wife and I thought, we've just got to do something more than this.

"I drove back to the garrison, and I had a woolly hat on, so I went knocking on everybody's car windows and asked people for a couple of bob, and it was freezing and no one wanted to, but eventually we filled the hat and I was amazed."

After collecting the money for the soldier, Ray scoured the local area searching for the family, but couldn't find them.

"After about a week and a half, we went back to the Garrison and found another family with two little kids and the dad had been injured in Afghanistan.

"We were talking to him and his wife and reluctantly they accepted it - because it's a bit weird - do you want a holiday for nothing from some stranger with a woolly hat.

"They went and they loved it and it was just fantastic to see the kids reactions, it was just great.

"So I thought - we've got to do it again - so we kept on doing it, and kept raising money, and kept sending people.

"Now every week there are families coming who desperately need a break to enjoy it and relax and become a family unit again.

"I just couldn’t have imagined, that day knocking on car windows in February this was going to happen."

Roland Stanwix, who owns Stanwix Holiday Park, said he was inspired to help after seeing the devastation left by the Afghan war.

"Watching television, the people coming in, the planes from Afghanistan, it was really heartbreaking," he said.

"Ray turned up at the park, and what he was doing with these families from Catterick Garrison - I thought, I'm sure we can do more than that.

"So I offered him three vouchers and he refused them, and I said, no, no, take them.

"And it just went on from there.

"I think we’ve had around 140 odd families up to today, by the end of the year nearly 180, and if it hadn't been for Covid, we would've had 300.

"Hopefully if people could the same around this country with all the garrisons and army barracks, I'm sure thousands of people could all have holidays all around the country."

Lt. Col. Joe Jordan, who was Garrison Commander when Roland and Ray approached them to offer free holidays, said: "It's been amazing, from initially getting the free holidays, for the caravans that were available at the time, to then get our own caravan, it's just balled me over."

He added: "And then when I got the call from Roland to say, I've got a second one for the Garrison, I thought how generous and how kind that somebody that isn't even near the garrison, is over here in Cumbria and Silloth, but still wants to reach out to the forces and the families and veterans and offer them a holiday.

"It’s just amazing, it really is."

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