As part of celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day, the Council has produced an engaging and educational trail map showing WWII locations in the Borough.
The map shows key sites including Lieutenant Ellis Way where an American bomber crashed in August 1944, the role of Broxbourne Aerodrome, locations where bombs fell including Chadwick and Shapcott’s Acorn Works in Waltham Cross where a V2 bomb hit in January 1945, Burnt Farm Camp which hosted an anti-aircraft gunsite, the sites of Broxbourne’s four war memorials, locations of pillboxes which were built to defend London, and roads that have been named after the Borough’s wartime history.
Not every location in the Borough could be included but these can be further explored at Lowewood Museum where an extensive collection is sited. Lowewood will be displaying its Broxbourne at War exhibition from July 2025 until the end of the year.
The trails were also distributed at the Council’s lighting of the VE Day beacon on Thursday 8 May at Grundy Park where it is estimated that 1,000 people attended. The beacon lighting concluded a day of celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day with the raising of the VE Day flag at Bishops’ College by the Mayor of Broxbourne accompanied by the local army cadets. A service of remembrance with a host of related activities was also held at Cedars Park.
Physical copies of the trail can be picked up from libraries in Cheshunt, Hoddesdon and Waltham Cross as well as Lowewood Museum. A digital version of the map can also be downloaded via the Council's World War Two Trail map webpage.