The Royal Parks launches new exhibition with unseen archive images revealing Bushy Park’s D-Day history

The Royal Parks charity has unveiled a new digital exhibition, with previously unseen photography alongside archive material, to reveal the role Bushy Park played in planning D-Day, which marked the invasion of north-west Europe by allied forces during the Second World War. 

The exhibition was created to coincide with the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June 2024.

Despite little evidence of this history remaining in the park today, D-Day was plotted from March – June 1944 inside the huge military site, Camp Griffiss, that was based inside Bushy Park. 

The Royal Parks charity, which manages London’s eight Royal Parks, is inviting everyone visiting Bushy Park to discover and explore this history which took place in the same locations that visitors wander through today. 

At its largest, Camp Griffiss housed more than 3,000 service personnel who suddenly found themselves in the middle of one of London’s Royal Parks. Stories reveal what life was like inside the boundaries of the camp as well as the locals who welcomed them.

Roger, who lived near Bushy Park as a child during the Second World War, remembered the arrival of the American women who “really liked our cute little accents and they would give us huge quantities of sweets and big tins of fruit and jam, all sorts of things.” 

However, the reality of war was soon felt. Susan, an Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) servicewoman remembers the constant fear of bomb raids while stationed at the park: “Quite often at night the sirens would go and we would hear the “buzz bombs” overhead – we dived under our beds and grabbed our tin helmets.”

The exhibition comprises new interpretation on site, a digital exhibition on The Royal Parks website, and a podcast which includes interviews with historical experts, the park staff, and the Friends of Bushy and Home Parks.

Bill Swan, Assistant Park Manager at Bushy Park, said: 

“We’re pleased to launch this exhibition, which offers people new opportunity to enjoy and experience the remarkable heritage of the park in person, as well as virtually.

“Bushy Park has a rich history which may not be obvious when walking around the park today and it is right to bring these historic stories about the locals who lived in and around the park, those on site in the camp and the planning by American military chiefs into the present for everyone to explore.”

You can view the digital exhibition here.