- East Allington
East Allington is a
village in southDevon , 3 miles south of Halwell and just off the A381. It lies about three miles fromKingsbridge and about ten miles fromTotnes . The coast atSlapton Sands is about five miles to the south-east. East Allington also includes the hamlet ofThe Mounts , about a mile away.The Church of St. Andrew's overlooks the village from a hillside position, and East Allington Primary School nestles in the shadow of the church.
East Allington is located within The
South Hams local authority area. Historically, it formed part of StanboroughHundred , and for ecclesiastical purposes, East Allington falls within Woodleigh Deanery.Population has varied over the years - it was 468 in 1801, 396 in 1901 and 617 in 2000.It was in East Allington Church, on the 12th November, 1943, that the announcement was first made to the people of a large part of The
South Hams that they were all to be evacuated from the area by 20th December, 1943. Although nobody was told the reason, it was because TheWar Office had chosen to useSlapton Sands to rehearse theD-Day Landings, as the beach atSlapton is very similar to the beach atNormandy which had been chosen for the landings. Ultimately, 749 American soldiers lost their lives atSlapton Sands in April, 1944 in a German attack during the exercises.Today, East Allington is a thriving village, with some new housing recently completed. It has a Church, Primary School, Village Hall, Pub and Recreation Ground.
External links
* [http://www.east-allington.co.uk East Allington village website]
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