Camp Griffiss was a US military base in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Constructed within the grounds of

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, (now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames),

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, it served as the European Headquarters for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from July 1942 to December 1944. From here

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

planned the D-Day invasion. Most of the camp's huts had been removed by the early 1960s, and a memorial tablet now stands on the site.

Location

Camp Griffiss was at a

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...

end of

, east of the axial road.

History

From 1942, Camp Griffiss in Bushy Park became the site of a large US base, headquarters to a number of the Allied departments. The camp served as the European Headquarters for the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from July 1942 to December 1944. General Dwight Eisenhower was averse to working in the centre of London during World War II. He decided instead to make Bushy Park the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) centre for planning Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion of north-west Europe that began with the D-Day landings. The base was named after Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Griffiss. Griffiss had been aide to Major General James E. Chaney, and was killed in a friendly fire incident when the aircraft in which he was a passenger was mistakenly shot down by

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) Polish fliers. He was the first US airman to die in the line of duty in Europe since the US entered World War II. It was a common belief amongst those stationed at the camp that the US base was originally intended to be at

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow ...

in Hertfordshire and was built in Bushy Park due to an error.

Post-war

When the Forces left, for several years after, homeless families, referred to as squatters, moved into the empty huts, making use of the vacant facilities, toilet blocks, water stand pipes etc. Most of the camp's huts were removed by 1963. Near the Teddington end of the park, not far from Chestnut Avenue, are two memorials: A circular USAAF Memorial tablet on a raised pentagonal block within a five-pointed brick star within a small five-sided enclosure. File:USAAF through trees.jpg, USAAF memorial File:USAAF 5 sides.jpg, The USAAF memorial has a low five sided fence around it File:USAAF and deer, Bushy Park.jpeg, The area has been returned to the deer File:USAAF tablet, Bushy Park.jpeg, The tablet, erected by the RAF File:Plaque USAAF European HQ.jpg, Plaque in Bushy Park marking the

European HQ The former site of Eisenhower's office is laid out in brick, with a memorial to SHAEF and a flagpole. File:Eisenhower and dead tree.jpg, The site of Eisenhower's office is marked in brick with a flagpole File:SHAEF, Bushy Park.jpg, SHAEF memorial on the site of Eisenhower's tent File:SHAEF plaque, Bushy park.jpg, SHAEF plaque File:SHAEF and USAAF.jpg, SHAEF memorial in foreground with USAAF memorial among the trees Some American Forces had also been billeted at Upper Lodge in Bushy Park. When they departed they left a concrete obelisk with this inscription: 5 C D, TEXAS, 1942.twickenham-museum.org
Retrieved 5 January 2010

References

External links

*
Photographs of memorials relating to Camp Griffiss
*Mulvey, Stephen (14 February 2012)
Townsend Griffiss, forgotten hero of World War II
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

''. Retrieved 6 August 2021. {{coord, 51.4194, -0.3291, type:landmark_region:GB-RIC, display=title 1942 establishments in England 1944 disestablishments in England Bushy Park Closed installations of the United States Army Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom Military history of London Military history of Middlesex Military installations closed in the 1940s Military installations of the United States in the United Kingdom Operation Overlord