FACELIFT FOR BUSHY PARK WAR MEMORIALS
The Friends of Bushy and Home Parks are exploring ways of improving the condition of the two key and historic features that commemorate the use of Bushy Park as Camp Griffiss by the American forces in World War Two using their charity funds to to support the work.
The first is the Eisenhower plaque located in the middle of the paved area beside the flagpole not far from SHAEF Gate. This plaque gives the dates that SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters
Allied Expeditionary Force) occupied Camp Griffiss and marks the location of the office of General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces.
This was placed there to mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1995. Unfortunately, the plaque has been damaged at the corners where someone has tried to prise it from the ground and it
also has un-sightly bolts (not original) stuck through it.
The second is the Portland stone tablet with a bronze plaque commemorating the USAAF personnel who worked at Camp Griffiss during the war and was un-veiled, with great ceremony, in 1945. This is also situated near SHAEF Gate.
It is not a scheduled monument, but it is listed as a war monument by War Memorials online (a charity in part funded by English Heritage) and the Imperial War Museums’ War Memorials Register. The stonework needs cleaning and the mortar between the brickwork requires re-pointing.
A spokesperson said: “We will take advice from the park manager on what would be the most appropriate working methods to ensure that the features remain relevant for many years to come.”