Join us for a walk around Headley Heath
Headley is quite a small village however during WW11 it played a not insignificant part in the war effort. Most of the larger houses were requisitioned by the Government for the War Effort. Headley Court became the Headquarters of The First Canadian Army Europe where everything from the day to day running of the Canadian Forces in the UK to planning for D Day was carried out. High Ashurst House was taken over by The Canadian Corps of Engineers as their headquarters and Headley Heath was used as a training ground for engineers to learn to use construction plant. As well as the Canadian presence in the village the American Ambassador used Headley Park as his residence and Villains Wyke housed a member of the Czechoslovak Government in Exile.
On the Boxhill side of The Heath it was much more secretive with the SOE using Bellassis House as its base for training mainly Czechoslovak operatives to be dropped back into their country to carry out underground operations including Operation Anthropoid the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. There was also a very secretive POW camp mainly for Austrian German Officers who the SOE believed could be persuaded to work for the Allies, some went on to assist in the recovery of art works looted by the Nazis.
After WW11 Headley Heath was gifted to The National Trust along with the Lordship of the Manor of Headley but with no financial endowment, a local committee was set up to raise funds and maintain the Heath which was in a very poor state after The Canadians left for D Day. Today it has been absorbed into the structure of the NT and is run centrally along with all the other North Downs properties. About 10 years ago a group of interested staff and volunteers was formed to try and research and record the military goings on during WW11 this was very successful and a lot of research done including interviewing local men who as boys had gone on the Heath and fraternised with the Canadian troops. Unfortunately as with many things internal politics intervened and the whole project was mothballed.
A couple of years ago a staff member responsible for community engagement heard about the previous project and started asking questions with the possibility of bringing this information to the visitors to the Heath. Some of the original volunteers from the first project got together with the interested current staff members to see what could be done. From those meetings the idea of a new physical trail to interpret the various features was born and it was decided to go all high tech and go for a trail with physical wooden posts which at points of interest would carry a QR code which when scanned by a smartphone would take you to a description of the feature in audio form.
The Friends of Headley Heath an independent Charity supporting Headley Heath was approached for possible funding help, the charity had been given a sum of money a few years ago in memory of a local couple who were great supporters of the Heath Robert and Tessa Bridges and it was decided that this bequest would provide the physical infrastructure of the new trail. Permission from Natural England was required to dig the posts into the ground and this was granted and the NT fencing contractor was engaged to supply and erect the posts. Meanwhile Robin Hunter a local actor was commissioned to read the audio scripts which were uploaded to the website and QR codes prepared. These and direction arrows were printed in Dorking onto plastic discs.
It was decided to have a formal opening on May 10th two days after VE day and also the date of Surrey Day. The ceremony which had a very good attendance was started by an introduction by Peter Denyer who handed over to Michal Hayman who is one of The Deputy Lord Lieutenants of Surrey and happens to live in the village, after a few words he handed over to Lord George Bridges the son of Robert and Tessa who outlined his families involvement in Headley and also that his Grandfather was Winston Churchills Cabinet Secretary during the war. He then declared the Trail officially open. Peter Denyer then lead some of the attendees round the trail where the QR codes were tried out and also Peter outlined the features.
If you would like to follow the trail which is free to use. Go to the Headley Heath Main Car Park opposite the Cricket Ground. (Parking charges apply for non NT members) Go onto the grass area behind the Car Park and locate the Yellow and White topped post near the Cairn. Just use your smartphone to scan the QR code and listen to the audio, then follow the black and white arrows there are 9 QR codes spaced round the trail each with a different commentary.
It will take approximately 1 1/2 Hours the paths are good but stony in places and muddy in winter so good footwear is recommended. Should be suitable for robust pushchairs but Wheelchair users will find it very difficult.
