Before World War II in the area of Llanmiloe there was basically only Llanmiloe House, West Mead Farm and three cottages at Llanmiloe Bach. Llanmiloe House itself gets its name from Coed Llanmiloe the wooded escarpment just to the north of it. The earliest record of the property is in 1615 when Rowland Mortimer acquired that land from Sir John Lewes.

However, in 1938 a joint services conference decided that the UK needed a shared small arms experimental establishment. This was original located at Foulness, but it was then decided to relocate it at Pendine for wartime safety – which happened in June 1940. By December 1941 prefabricated bungalows were built in the grounds of Llanmiloe House, and the mansion was compulsorily acquired. The owner, Squire Morgan-Jones, apparently committed suicide because he was so upset at losing his home.

During 1944 and 1945 a church and welfare centre which included a GP’s surgery were built adjacent to the new housing estate. These were used by both those on the establishment and local residents. As time went on more accommodation was built: the Sergeant’s Mess in front of Llanmiloe Bach; Wood End and Dukes Meadow were the married quarters, for instance. This was because it was decided in 1945 that the establishment would become a permanent one – it became an official experimental range in 1948.

Marsh land was reclaimed to create a cricket and football field, a bowling green, and also three shops and the Pendine Social Club. A new medical centre was built in 1954. By the mid 1950s the ranges that were used extended seven miles, and the establishment employed up to two thousand people, living locally or being bussed in from slightly further afield.

Defence cutbacks that started in the 1990’s mean that the workforce dropped by half within a few years, and by 1997 the MoD had pulled out of the site totally. However, the site was still used by organisations for the same sort of work as now by Qinetiq. The facilities were handed on to the Welsh Development Agency rather than let them go to waste. Much was then passed to the newly formed Llanmiloe Community Association (LCA)to look after – based at that time in Pendine Social Club.

The front row of prefabricated houses built in the 1940s were knocked down fifty years after they were built and Bro Myrddin Housing Association built more modern houses across much of the estate. The Sargeant’s Mess and range camp were both demolished for safety reasons. The LCA became Llanmiloe and district Community Association, moved across the road in to old medical centre, which was renamed the Llanmiloe Resource Centre.

The area is rich in wildlife because within a small areas there is dense woodland to the north of the village, along with agricultural land around, and open drainage water courses (called pills) to the front and sides cutting through the marchland.  There are designated sites of special scientific interest on the unused ex-MoD land next to the recreation ground.