Village transformed into wartime movie set
Locals were doing a double take this week when they woke to find their village hall draped in huge Nazi swastikas.
It was all part of a set for a short film which is being made in Goadby Marwood based on a fascinating real life story from the Second World War.
Most of the scenes for The Loyal Enemy are being shot at the majestic 17th century Goadby Marwood Hall, courtesy of the Westropp family.
The village hall, which is the other side of the historic St Denys Church, doubles as a building in Germany in 1938
It was being used for flashback scenes when the Melton Times was invited to the set this week.
Some local people are working as extras on the movie, including Chris Lee, who lives at Wycomb.
He told us: “It’s been lovely - I am really enjoying it
“Seeing the village hall with its huge swastikas can be quite scary at first.
"We’ve had a few people wondering what was going on in the village.”
The story is based on events in 1943 at Trent Park, in north London, where German generals captured after the north Africa campaign were kept as prisoners-of-war.
Unknown to the generals, their conversations were being listened to by a team of translators.
The main character of the movie is German-born Ilse Friedman, who discovers the location of a V-2 rocket test site, which she suspects is close to a forced labour camp her parents have been sent to.
Ilse is a fictional character but the German generals and other main protagonists in the story are real people.
The use of Trent Park for secret wartime surveillance has been a closely guarded secret but details have emerged recently about what went on there.
With Trent Park unavailable the makers identified Goadby Marwood Hall as the perfect location to use instead.
Producer, Jonnie Hurn, told the Melton Times: “The village has been very welcoming and everything is going well.
“We’ve got a great cast and crew. Some of the make-up team have worked on big movies like Mission Impossible and we also have people who’ve worked on shows like The Crown.
"The aim is to push it out to some of the film festivals and hopefully it will get plenty of attention.”
Robert Portal, who plays Col Kendrick, is a well known face on stage and screen, having appeared in The King’s Speech and top TV shows.
On why he took the role, he told us: “It’s a wonderful script.
"It also a great story which most people will not know about due to the Official Secrets Act."
Authentic props have been loaned by local people in the Melton area, such as typewriters, wireless headsets and German newspapers.
Cast and crew have stayed at the hall while others involved in the production have been put up by villagers.
Another of the local extras is Gary Tomlinson, from Melton, who plays a passer-by in the flashback scenes.
He told us: “My wife put me in for it and I am really enjoying it.
“There is a bit of waiting around but it’s great weather and there are lots of people to chat to.”
The film is directed by Cassandra von Oppen and made by Keep Calm and Carry On Productions.