Much-needed family breaks have been provided by one of the county’s leading holiday and residential parks provider as it partners with the charity ‘Give Us Time’, to support the work of service men and women throughout the UK.

Meadow Bay Villages has donated complimentary holidays to service families throughout 2024, to offer a moment of respite and an invaluable opportunity for families to reconnect, strengthen their bonds, and create lasting memories.

To date, 32 holidays have been donated by Meadow Bay Villages with families enjoying breaks at its Hayling Island Holiday Park in Hampshire and Billing Aquadrome in Northampton.

Holidays being provided are across the company’s accommodation offering, including brand new gold standard caravans.

Meadow Bay Villages CEO, Geoffrey Smith, said: “The Meadow Bay Villages team is deeply honoured to announce our partnership with the "Give Us Time" charity. Through this collaboration, we eagerly anticipate welcoming families supported by "Give Us Time" to enjoy much-needed holiday breaks. These moments of respite provide an invaluable opportunity for families to reconnect, strengthen their bonds, and create lasting memories.

We take immense pride in contributing to the well-being and happiness of these deserving families. Our partnership with "Give Us Time" reflects our profound gratitude and recognition of the sacrifices made by service families for our nation. Meadow Bay Villages is committed to supporting their well-being and honouring their dedication.”

One family which has benefited from this initiative is Dan and Jenny Crabb, who between them have five children ranging in ages from 1 to 13.  The Crabb family recently enjoyed a break at Meadow Bay’s Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park in Northamptonshire. Dan is a Petty Officer in the Navy where he has served over 11 years. He is currently away on deployment until December.

Jenny Crabb said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you for allowing us the time to spend together before Dan embarked on his next six-month deployment. Dan is on a limited contact deployment and this is very hard on the children.

“Dan and I married in 2021 just two weeks before he left on a seven month tour with CSG on the Queen Elizabeth. We had booked a holiday at Billing Aquadrome at that time but like many things, it got cancelled due to the global pandemic.

“This is Dan’s first deployment since we had Maddison who is only one and the third for Evelynn who is now five. It never gets any easier, even for the older children, so this support from Give Us Time, together with Billing Aquadrome has been invaluable and we really do appreciate the time it has given us as a family to spend together. Caravans have come a very long way since I last stayed in one and we loved our stay so much that I decided to go again in August with just me and the kids.”

Alex Youngs, Give Us Time, Operations Director, said: “We’re thrilled that Meadow Bay Village has joined Give Us Time as a charity partner. The growing number of families joining us this year shows how essential these getaways are in allowing Armed Forces’ families to spend time away together and create lasting memories. We’re sure that families will thoroughly enjoy all the opportunities Meadow Bay Village offers to spend time together away from the stresses of everyday military life.”

Meadow Bay Villages is marking its first season in the holiday and residential parks industry, having acquired five hugely popular English holiday resorts. Led by CEO Geoffrey Smith, an industry leader with more than 30 years of management experience previously at Bourne Leisure and Cove UK, who will steer the company through a planned programme of investment in the properties.

Dan and Jenny Crabb’s sons, Harry (blue t-shirt) and Thomas (black jumper) | Dan and Jenny Crabb’s daughter Evelynn