Battlefield Essex is the eighth book on the county we have produced in the Essex Hundred series and we are pleased to say most are still in print and available from book shops or cyber retailers. Although part of the title is called Battlefield, it is not a military reference book. In the last 2,000 years there have been a number of bloody battles on Essex soil, but there too have been several conflicts that although sometimes violent didn't involve the loss of life. In many cases these conflicts have been hyped in contemporary media as a 'battles' and the term has stuck. The prime example of this was the long running dispute in the 1920s in Thaxted in what was known the 'Battle of the Flags'. To our knowledge although there was damage to property, no one was killed or even seriously injured during this battle. Apart from the battles, Essex has been a front line county in England since the time of the Saxons and the Viking raiders 1,500 years ago, so accordingly it is proper to examine the various defences put in place to thwart potential invaders and to look at whether these forts and other defensive measures set up were much of a deterrent.Fortunately in recent times what might be called 'foreign' invaders have never set foot in Essex Nevertheless the county, with its munitions factories, arms development and weapons testing facilities, has played a major part in defence of the realm during the course of both World Wars, as well as suffering from the effects of enemy bombings.
As the tide of the World War II swung in favour of the allies, Essex became a launching pad to strike the enemy. The US Air Force arrived in strength and stately homes were requisitioned by the military to train clandestine forces for missions in occupied Europe. Following the end of World War II, (a hot war), a cold war commenced almost immediately and a site near Ongar became a key installation for planning the aftermath of a nuclear strike. In writing this book it was never our intention to create an academic reference work. In Battlefield Essex as in our other Essex Hundred titles, we have done our best to record some of the memorable events, people and places that have played a role in the development of the county of Essex.