152-472: The Welfreighter was a Second World War British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for the purpose of landing and supplying agents behind enemy lines. It only saw action once and was not particularly successful. After the success of the X class midget submarines , an attempt was made by SOE's technical division, Inter Services Research Bureau (ISRB) under
304-637: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on
456-564: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to
608-662: A bill in Parliament which, despite much opposition from Hotel York Limited, became the Letchworth Garden City Corporation Act 1962 ( 10 & 11 Eliz. 2 . c. xxxix). The act created a public body, the Letchworth Garden City Corporation, which on 1 January 1963, took over the garden city estate as it had existed on 20 July 1961. Compensation for taking the company's assets had to be paid to First Garden City Limited, which continued to exist as
760-412: A competition for designing the town's layout, and were appointed as consulting architects to the company. Most of the pre-existing trees and hedgerows were preserved in the layout. Unwin took the alignment of the town's main avenue (Broadway) from three old oak trees which stood on the central plateau of the estate and were incorporated into the central square (Broadway Gardens). A temporary railway halt
912-472: A conventional 37 feet (11 m) motor boat . While surfaced it was propelled by a Gardner 4LW 44 hp (33 kW) diesel omnibus engine driving a 4-bladed propeller, while underwater propulsion was provided by two 2 hp (1.5 kW) electric motors, driving a pair of small propellers. Two "masts" on the craft's foredeck housed a Barr and Stroude periscope and a magnetic compass. A dummy mast and sail could be attached to these masts to help disguise
1064-402: A depth of 130 feet (40 m). In early 1944 a specification for a final Mk III version was proposed by SOE, which eventually entered series production. The range was now specified as 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with an additional 1,000 miles (1,600 km) using disposable tanks (which however meant a loss of the diving capability). A further 600 miles (970 km) could be added if part of
1216-409: A group of six houses called "Alpha Cottages" at 22–32 Baldock Road, where the first residents moved in during July 1904. Much of the town's early housing was to the east of the nascent town centre, within walking distance of the main industrial area on the eastern edge of the town. Many houses were built in a modest cottage style, finished with cream painted render, green doors, and clay-tiled roofs. To
1368-417: A memorial to her a public hall was built, paid for by public subscriptions. The Mrs Howard Memorial Hall opened in 1906 and was one of the town's first public buildings. In 1905, and again in 1907, the company held "Cheap Cottages Exhibitions", which were contests for architects and builders to demonstrate innovations in inexpensive housing. The 1905 exhibition attracted some 60,000 visitors. The popularity of
1520-546: A point on the main avenue where six roads converged, with the roads later being named Broadway, Spring Road, and Sollershott. Plans drawn up in July 1908 proposed a circular traffic island at this point, influenced by the Place de l'Étoile in Paris, which Unwin wrote about in 1909. The Letchworth roundabout is known to have been in use by 1910. When first built, traffic could circulate around
1672-463: A population in 1801 of 67, rising to 96 by 1901. In 1898, the social reformer Ebenezer Howard wrote To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform (republished in 1902 as Garden Cities of To-morrow ), in which he advocated the construction of a new kind of town, which he called a "garden city". The idea was summed up in a diagram called the "Three Magnets", showing how the mixed advantages and disadvantages of town or country living could be combined into
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#17328872372071824-514: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of
1976-765: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as
2128-571: A protected rural belt were later taken up more generally in town planning in Britain from the mid-twentieth century as the green belt . Howard's ideas were mocked in some sections of the press but struck a chord with many, especially members of the Arts and Crafts movement and the Quakers . After examining several possible locations for establishing a garden city, the garden city pioneers settled on Letchworth as
2280-665: A public body which would manage it for the benefit of the community, and until then dividends to shareholders were restricted to no more than 5% per annum. This made it a very unusual company, but it was otherwise an ordinary joint stock company , owned by its shareholders. Until the Second World War, the company largely ran the emerging town, developing close working relationships with the Hitchin Rural District Council and (after 1919) Letchworth Urban District Council to ensure that any approvals needed were given when
2432-469: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of
2584-646: A similar approach, and aspects of the principles demonstrated at Letchworth have been incorporated into other projects around the world including the Australian capital Canberra , Hellerau in Germany, Tapiola in Finland and Mežaparks in Latvia . The area now occupied by Letchworth has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A late Bronze Age hill fort , thought to date from c. 700 BC , stood on Wilbury Hill , beside
2736-743: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,
2888-525: A slight positive buoyancy, these drums could hold equipment for use by agents or saboteurs and could be floated out through the tailgate and towed ashore by agents, either swimming or using an inflatable boat. Each Welfreighter was manned by a Sub Lieutenant RNVR as Commander, and a Naval Engine Room Artificer ( ERA ) or Army mechanic ( REME ). Up to four special agents could travel as passengers, although two would be more usual. These would commonly be Army personnel, who would be expected to assist with handling
3040-536: A small rural village until the start of the twentieth century. The development of the modern town began in 1903, when much of the land in Letchworth and the neighbouring parishes of Willian and Norton was purchased by a company called First Garden City Limited, founded by Ebenezer Howard and his supporters with the aim of building the first "garden city", following the principles Howard had set out in his 1898 book, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform . Their aim
3192-462: A third option, "Town-Country", offering the advantages of both cities and the countryside while eliminating their disadvantages. Industry would be kept separate from residential areas , whilst the residents would have good access to parks and the countryside. The garden city would be contained in a belt of open countryside, providing land not just for agriculture, but also for children's homes, asylums, new forests and brickfields . Echoes of this idea of
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#17328872372073344-520: A town which was itself inspired by the garden city movement. The idea was to minimise the impact of traffic by having houses face onto pedestrian-only green lanes and open spaces, with parking and servicing provided in garage courts behind the houses. Private housing resumed more slowly after the Second World War, partly due to the tight controls on building materials and licences which were imposed and remained in force until 1954. As these restrictions eased, additional areas of private housing were built to
3496-519: A two-front war, as it had in World War I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as
3648-517: Is derived from the Old English "lycce weorth", meaning a farm inside a fence or enclosure. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Leceworde", when it was described as having nine households of villagers, four cottagers, one slave and one priest. The presence of the priest suggests that Letchworth was by that time a parish. Letchworth's parish church was built in the 12th century, but likely on
3800-621: Is no binding obligation to carry out the original policy." Shares in the company therefore became much more valuable. In 1960, a company called Hotel York Limited acquired a controlling interest in First Garden City Limited. Hotel York's chairman, Amy Rose (née Charles), became managing director of First Garden City Limited in January 1961. Hotel York Limited had been founded in 1906 and had previously owned and run hotels in London, including
3952-505: Is the ban, most unusual for a British town, on selling alcohol in public premises. This was initially decided by a public vote in June 1907, in which 54% voted against allowing a licensed public house. This did not stop the town having a "pub" however – the Skittles Inn or the "pub with no beer" which opened in March 1907. Despite the ban it is not entirely true to say that there were no pubs in
4104-643: Is unique in having a private charity , the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for the management of many aspects of the garden city estate, having some planning and grant-making functions similar to those normally associated with local authorities. These functions derive from the Heritage Foundation's ownership of the estate and do not replace the usual local authority functions and responsibilities, but operate in addition to them. Historically, Letchworth
4256-588: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had
4408-562: The Berners Hotel . The Rose family had taken control of Hotel York in 1957, and by 1960 all its properties had been sold. The town feared that such asset stripping might now happen to Letchworth, and the likelihood of the town gaining the financial benefit that Howard and the pioneers had originally envisaged was decreasing. Initial assurances from Mrs Rose about maintaining the integrity of the estate did not last long. During 1961, First Garden City Limited started auctioning freeholds of parts of
4560-662: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of
4712-566: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into
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4864-814: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and
5016-517: The Green Flag Award for well-managed green space. As the town approached its centenary, there was a campaign to change the name officially from Letchworth to "Letchworth Garden City", this time without the parentheses of the 1904 version of the name. Proponents of the change argued that as the later Welwyn Garden City incorporated the "Garden City" within its official name, so too should the first garden city at Letchworth. The Letchworth campaign
5168-567: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled
5320-537: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,
5472-682: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to
5624-527: The Letchworth company of Shelvoke and Drewry Ltd. was awarded a contract to produce Welfreighters. By early September an order for up to 34 Welfreighters was placed for delivery as soon as possible after 1 October. The company had no experience of ship construction, and was 75 miles (121 km) from the sea. Security surrounding the production of the Welfreighter was tight, and few non- vetted employees knew
5776-693: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against
5928-677: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as
6080-603: The Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with
6232-581: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that
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6384-530: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact
6536-689: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed
6688-682: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with
6840-518: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded
6992-506: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which
7144-401: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and
7296-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and
7448-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting
7600-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered
7752-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent
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#17328872372077904-413: The Australian capital Canberra , Hellerau in Germany, Tapanila in Finland and Mežaparks in Latvia . Ownership of the estate passed from First Garden City Limited to the Letchworth Garden City Corporation in 1963, which in turn was replaced in 1995 by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation . The estate eventually started yielding a financial surplus which could be used for the benefit of
8056-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack
8208-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27 May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,
8360-405: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and
8512-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed
8664-443: The Garden City. Pubs that had existed from before the foundation of the Garden City continued to operate, including the Three Horseshoes in Norton and the Three Horseshoes and the Fox in Willian, and benefited from the lack of alcohol to be had in the centre of the town, as did the pubs in neighbouring Hitchin and Baldock . New inns also sprang up on the borders of the town, including the Wilbury Hotel which opened in 1940 just outside
8816-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6 October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of
8968-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured
9120-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged
9272-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to
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#17328872372079424-421: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and
9576-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed
9728-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued
9880-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking
10032-424: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced
10184-489: The United Kingdom attacked on 3 July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in
10336-401: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14 June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which
10488-473: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in
10640-434: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with
10792-416: The ancient road of Icknield Way . The hill fort was refortified c. 400 BC in the Middle Iron Age , and appears to have been occupied until the Roman conquest of Britain . Evidence for Bronze Age, Romano-British and late Iron Age settlement has also been found in the fields between Norton village and the A1. By the time of the Norman Conquest , Letchworth was established as a village. The name
10944-405: The area of Norton parish, which was abolished, and the northern part of Willian parish. The detached part of Letchworth parish at Burleigh Farm was transferred to Knebworth at the same time. A parish council was established, with Sir John Gorst , a barrister and former Conservative Member of Parliament, being the first chairman of the parish council. On 1 April 1919, the parish of Letchworth
11096-507: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding
11248-400: The central island in both directions; the instruction to keep left was not added until 1921. It was named "Sollershott Circus" and is recognised as the first roundabout on a public road in the United Kingdom. Two signs were erected on the roundabout in 2006 saying "UK's First Roundabout Built circa 1909" This was after a petition was made by Andrew White of Letchworth for a school project. As
11400-449: The chosen site. The Letchworth Hall estate had come up for sale, and although it alone was too small, secret negotiations with fourteen adjoining landowners allowed an estate of 3,818 acres (1,545 hectares) to be assembled and purchased for £155,587. A company called First Garden City Limited was established on 1 September 1903 to purchase the land and begin building the garden city. In 1904, architects Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker won
11552-553: The claim was published in the Daily Mail and the Daily Sketch in November 1916 as part of articles accusing the town of being a haven for communists and conscientious objectors—claims which the town denied. For the first few years, the new town's Anglicans had to use the old parish churches at Letchworth village, Willian or Norton on the edges of the estate. Many of the town's pioneers had non-conformist leanings, in keeping with
11704-420: The clandestine Services Reconnaissance Department (commonly known as Z Special Unit ). Extensive trials were conducted, including towing trials and exercises using high-powered motor launches and Motor Torpedo Boats . One source suggests that 12 were sent to Australia in 1945. Second World War Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or
11856-629: The command of Lt. Colonel John Dolphin to design a submersible craft for covert missions. These would include the landing and supplying agents behind enemy lines, intelligence gathering work off hostile coastlines, and delivering explosive depth charges to enemy shipping routes. This design became the Welfreighter. It was intended that the Welfreighter could travel surfaced by night towards an enemy-held coastline, submerging as and when necessary to avoid detection. The special agents would then be disembarked and go ashore along with their equipment, stored in
12008-400: The company changed its articles of association to say that when the company was wound up only 10% of any surplus would be applied for the benefit of the town, rather than the 100% anticipated in 1903. The rest was to be distributed among the shareholders of the company. In 1956, limits on dividends to shareholders were removed, with the company chairman, Eric Macfadyen declaring that "there
12160-443: The company managed the town, which were opposed by the residents and local council who wanted the original garden city ideals retained. They secured an act of parliament which transferred ownership of the estate from the company to a public sector body, the Letchworth Garden City Corporation, in 1963. The corporation in turn was replaced by a charitable body in 1995, the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, which owns and manages
12312-408: The company requested them. The company's layout plan was not underpinned by any statutory town planning role, but was instead a statement of intent from a private landowning company laying out its land as it wished. The relationship between the company and the council began to change after the Second World War, as more town planning functions were given to councils and utilities nationalised. In 1949,
12464-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it
12616-440: The council built Letchworth Town Hall on Broadway to act as its meeting place and offices. The building stands in a prominent position overlooking Broadway Gardens in the centre of the town. The urban district was enlarged on 1 April 1935 by the abolition of Willian parish (which had already been reduced in 1908), plus smaller areas from other adjoining parishes. The council was granted a coat of arms on 11 December 1944. Over
12768-433: The council's new arms in May 2010, by which time the process of abolishing the council was already underway. The design includes the three magnets from Ebenezer Howard's diagram on a green background with a black squirrel. Since 2013, the town has therefore once again been an unparished area, directly administered by North Hertfordshire District Council, as it had been between 1974 and 2005. The 13 Letchworth councillors on
12920-486: The council, which took over three years, including legal action being taken and public consultation. The parish of Letchworth Garden City and its town council were eventually abolished on 31 March 2013. Shortly before the 2009 election, the town council had petitioned the College of Arms for a coat of arms , having found they were unable to use the former coat of arms of Letchworth Urban District Council. The college issued
13072-552: The course of its existence, the urban district council built nearly 5,000 homes in the town. Letchworth Urban District was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 , with the area merging with the urban districts of Hitchin , Baldock and Royston and the Hitchin Rural District to become the new district of North Hertfordshire on 1 April 1974. With over 30% of the population of the new district, Letchworth
13224-426: The craft as a fishing smack . The foredeck was raised up to give some headroom inside the craft, and was fitted with small square viewports. To the rear of the main structure was a raised deck, beneath which were housed 6 high pressure air cylinders. To the rear of this area was a cargo well, fitted at the stern with a drop-down tailgate. This could house seven cylindrical drums of cargo. Carefully loaded so as to give
13376-458: The craft while on the surface. Before the Welfreighter became properly operational the secret war in Europe was nearly over. In late 1944 plans were discussed to deploy the craft to the Adriatic , to assist operations in the Balkans , where SOE was involved in supporting partisans in northern Greece, Albania, and Yugoslavia. It was also suggested that Welfreighters could be used to plant mines in
13528-515: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of
13680-535: The directive to prepare for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Letchworth Letchworth Garden City , commonly known as Letchworth , is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire , England. It is noted for being the first garden city . The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth was an ancient parish , appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086. It remained
13832-739: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of
13984-493: The district council meet as the Letchworth Committee. The current arrangements have evolved from one of Letchworth Garden City's founding principles, that the profits from the town should be used for the benefit of the residents. First Garden City Limited was founded in 1903 to purchase the land and develop the town. Once the garden city was substantially complete it was envisaged that the estate would be transferred to
14136-408: The early 1980s. Some of the vacated factory sites were redeveloped as business parks and serviced offices, and the town's economy shifted away from a small number of large manufacturing businesses to a large number of smaller office-based businesses. Early housing development in Letchworth largely followed Unwin and Parker's masterplan. The first houses built after the founding of the garden city were
14288-589: The electric propulsion was upgraded: it could deliver 2-3 knots. By now it was apparent that it was unlikely that the Welfreighter would be needed in Europe, therefore consideration was given to its use in the Far East. Due to the urgency of production it was not possible to create a dedicated factory. As had happened with the Welman submarine the year before, production was contracted out to specialised engineering firms already engaged in production of war material. In mid-1944,
14440-413: The end of Broadway. The first new houses were occupied in July 1904. The following month First Garden City Limited held a vote amongst shareholders and residents on what name the new garden city should take. Several options were proposed, including "Garden City", "Homeworth" and "Alseopolis". The chosen name was "Letchworth (Garden City)". The company adopted this as its name for the town, but adoption of
14592-637: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied
14744-508: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming
14896-458: The entrances to German ports, but this was dropped when it was demonstrated that a suitable charge would have to weigh over 224 pounds (102 kg), which would be too much for the craft's buoyancy and trim. Trained Welfreighter crews were ready for operations through the autumn of 1944, but neither Combined Operations HQ or SOE ever required anything of them. Two Welfreighters were shipped to Fremantle , Australia, in late 1944, to become part of
15048-574: The estate and the company proposed to the county council that much of the estate's agricultural belt could be developed, allowing the town to grow to 60,000 people rather than the 32,000 which had originally been envisaged. In response, the Letchworth Urban District Council began a campaign to restore the original ethos of the garden city to the estate. It enlisted the support of the local Member of Parliament, Martin Maddan , who sponsored
15200-454: The estate today. Letchworth today retains large business areas providing jobs in a variety of sectors, and the landlord's profits are reinvested for the benefit of the community by the Heritage Foundation. The town lies 32 miles (51 km) north of London , on the railway linking London to Cambridge , and it also adjoins the A1 road , making it relatively popular with commuters. Residential areas in
15352-574: The estate was compulsorily purchased from First Garden City Limited by Letchworth Urban District Council. In 1959, land to the south-east of the town was also compulsorily purchased for the development of the Jackmans estate, another large council estate, with funding provided by London County Council as the area was to accommodate London overspill . The Jackmans estate was developed on the " Radburn principle " which had been pioneered in Radburn, New Jersey ,
15504-719: The exhibitions was significant in leading the Daily Mail to launch the Ideal Home Exhibition (which later became the Ideal Home Show ), in 1908. One possible visitor to the fledgling town was Lenin , who was reputed to have visited during May 1907 whilst attending the Fifth Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in London. Contemporary evidence confirming the visit is lacking, but
15656-595: The factory was also involved in producing parachutes and decoding machinery. The town attracted and developed a diverse range of industries. Other significant early businesses included: The biggest employer for a number of years was the British Tabulating Machine Company , which moved from London to Letchworth in 1920. In 1958, it merged with Powers-Samas to become International Computers and Tabulators (ICT) and finally became part of International Computers Limited (ICL) in 1969. A power station
15808-566: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until
15960-843: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing
16112-512: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of
16264-726: The latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in
16416-509: The model tests, permission was granted for the construction of a full size prototype at the SOE establishment known as The Frythe in Welwyn . The first prototype had little resemblance to the later versions. When launched at Staines in May 1943 it permitted further tests but showed flaws in that it was not stable under tow at speeds over 7 knots (13 km/h) and lacked freeboard . A second prototype
16568-442: The name was not universal. The legal name of the civil parish and (after 1919) urban district remained simply "Letchworth". First Garden City Limited also gradually dropped the "(Garden City)" suffix from the name, partly reflecting common usage, and partly taking the view that as the town matured it should not permanently be seen as an experiment. Similarly, the town's railway station was initially called "Letchworth (Garden City)", but
16720-497: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with
16872-571: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of
17024-583: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at
17176-693: The radical spirit of the early town. The first new place of worship to be built was the Free Church, built in 1905 (later rebuilt in 1923). It was followed in 1907 by 'Howgills' , the Meeting House for the Society of Friends . Letchworth's founding citizens, attracted by the promise of a better life, were often caricatured by outsiders as idealistic and otherworldly. John Betjeman in his poems Group Life: Letchworth and Huxley Hall painted Letchworth people as earnest health freaks. One commonly-cited example of this
17328-693: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,
17480-458: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in
17632-519: The site of an earlier building. The original dedication of the church is unknown, but it was rededicated to St Mary during the First World War. The village was along Letchworth Lane, stretching from St Mary's and the adjoining medieval manor house of Letchworth Hall up to the staggered crossroads of Letchworth Lane, Hitchin Road, Baldock Road and Spring Road. Letchworth was a relatively small parish, having
17784-489: The south of the town. This area south of the town was significantly enlarged by the Lordship and Manor Park estates, begun in 1971. Following the completion of these developments in the 1980s, most new housing in the town has been on previously-developed land, as sites vacated by closed schools and businesses have been redeveloped. Innovation in Letchworth was not confined to the design of buildings. The 1904 layout plan included
17936-477: The south-west of the town centre towards Letchworth village was an area of larger individually-designed houses for the upper middle classes. After the Second World War the focus for new development was on large council estates . To the north of the town work began on the Grange estate in 1947. The estate included its own primary schools, recreation ground, public house and a neighbourhood shopping centre. The land for
18088-412: The special containers. The Welfreighter would then sail out to sea and submerge itself to wait until the next night. At a pre-arranged time, or upon receiving a sound signal from the landing party (made by a mechanical device) it would surface again and pick up the agents, before heading out to sea either to rendezvous with a larger surface vessel or return to base under its own power. The initial concept
18240-494: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed
18392-519: The storage capacity was used. The accommodation had also been enlarged; as well as the two crewmen, 4 passengers could be carried on short voyages, or 3 for longer trips. The cargo capacity had also been enhanced to enable between 1.5 and 2 tons to be carried. Underwater endurance had also been augmented, the craft now being capable of supporting 6 persons for up to 40 hours submerged. Finally, surface speed had been increased to 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h) cruising speed, or 7 knots (13 km/h) maximum. Even
18544-575: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,
18696-480: The town are included in conservation areas in recognition of their quality, but the town also contains four of the five poorest-scoring neighbourhoods in North Hertfordshire for deprivation , in parts of the Jackmans estate, Grange estate and Wilbury area. The town has extensive parkland and open spaces, with Norton Common and Howard Park being two of the largest open spaces in the town, both of which hold
18848-403: The town are mixed; large parts of the town are included in conservation areas in recognition of their quality, but the town also contains four of the five poorest-scoring neighbourhoods in North Hertfordshire for deprivation . As the world's first garden city, Letchworth has had a notable impact on town planning and the new towns movement ; it influenced nearby Welwyn Garden City , which used
19000-406: The town had a town council . The council was created following a petition organised by a group of people dissatisfied with how the town was being managed by the Heritage Foundation. Opponents felt that the town council itself was an unnecessary layer of administration. Those opposed to the town council won 22 of the 24 seats on the council at the election in 2009 and began the process of abolishing
19152-561: The town in 1973. This led to investment in a number of town amenities, including a working farm tourist attraction opened at Standalone Farm (1980), the North Herts Leisure Centre (1982), and a free hospital, the Ernest Gardiner Day Hospital (1984). The Broadway cinema was extensively refurbished in 1996, and the Heritage Foundation has also supported several projects to enhance the town centre. Large parts of
19304-513: The town's border. The ban was finally lifted after a referendum in 1957, which led to the opening of the Broadway Hotel in 1962 as the first public house in the centre of the Garden City. Several other public houses have opened since then, but to this day the town centre has relatively few pubs for a town of its size. One of the most prominent industries to arrive in the town in the early years
19456-472: The truth until after the end of the war. Completed craft were transported at night under canvas covers to Station IX at Welwyn, where they were fitted out, the compass and periscope and secret equipment fitted. The craft were then balanced, trimmed, and pressure tested in the establishment's water tank. They were then transported onwards to Fishguard in Wales, for sea trials. The Welfreighter outwardly resembled
19608-623: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as
19760-504: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising
19912-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which
20064-503: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to
20216-687: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed
20368-455: The world's first garden city, Letchworth had a notable influence on town planning and the new towns movement in the twentieth century. It directly influenced Welwyn Garden City , founded by Ebenezer Howard in 1920 using a similar model to Letchworth, and Hampstead Garden Suburb , founded in 1906 and also designed to a layout by Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker. Aspects of Letchworth's approach to blending town and county were subsequently used in
20520-614: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to
20672-418: Was a true miniature submarine which could from a distance be mistaken for a conventional motor boat and which could hold two agents along with its crew of two men, and which could also carry up to one ton of supplies in sealed containers. The designed range was to be up to 600 miles (970 km) on the surface, with a range of 200 miles (320 km) at speeds of up to 8 knots (15 km/h). While submerged it
20824-534: Was an ancient parish in the hundred of Broadwater . The parish also had a detached portion at Burleigh Farm, between Langley and Knebworth , some 6 miles (9.7 km) to the south of the rest of the parish. The parish of Letchworth was included in the Hitchin Poor Law Union from 1835. It therefore became part of the Hitchin Rural District under the Local Government Act 1894 . The 1894 Act also created parish councils, but Letchworth's population
20976-528: Was begun in June and was tested throughout the autumn and winter. A third prototype was begun in September 1943. Its surface range - 1,000 miles (1,600 km) - exceeded the specification, but at the expense of reducing the storage capacity by 240 pounds (110 kg). Its speed was less than the specification, at 6 knots (11 km/h) maximum while surfaced, with a mere 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged. It did however perform satisfactorily when pressure tested to
21128-434: Was below the threshold to be given one, and so it only had a parish meeting . Following the commencement of work on Letchworth Garden City in 1903, the area purchased for the new town straddled the parishes of Letchworth, Willian and Norton. An unofficial "Residents' Union" or "Residents' Council" for the town was established in June 1905. The civil parish of Letchworth was substantially enlarged on 1 April 1908 to take over
21280-476: Was built in 1903 on the Great Northern Railway's Hitchin, Royston and Cambridge branch line, which crosses the middle of the garden city estate. Initially, services were irregular special trains for excursions and construction workers. A more substantial temporary wooden station was opened in 1905 with a regular passenger service. The current railway station was built in 1912 in a prominent location at
21432-416: Was built in the 1920s on Works Road to supply electricity. There were two coal-fired generators, called Letchworth A and Letchworth B, with rated outputs of 8 megawatts (MW) and 13 MW respectively. Letchworth A was decommissioned in 1968, followed by Letchworth B in 1974. A gas turbine power station was then built on the site, with two 70 MW turbines and two reinforced concrete chimneys. The first turbine
21584-436: Was commissioned in 1978. Output peaked during the 1984–1985 miners' strike . The power station was demolished in 2007. During the 1970s and 1980s, many of the town's large manufacturing businesses closed. The Kryn and Lahy Steel Foundry closed in 1979. Spirella and ICL both closed their factories in 1989. Borg-Warner also closed its factory during this period. The town went through a period of relatively high unemployment in
21736-436: Was made an urban district . Letchworth Urban District Council was formed to replace the parish council and also took over district-level responsibilities from the Hitchin Rural District Council. The first urban district council had 15 councillors: nine "all party", four Labour , and two independent . The first chairman was Charles Ball, a Conservative, who had been the chairman of the old parish council since 1916. In 1935,
21888-452: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign
22040-515: Was renamed "Letchworth" in 1937. The station is now known as Letchworth Garden City, with direct trains to Brighton via St Pancras International and terminating trains to King's Cross to the South, and Cambridge and King's Lynn to the North. Ebenezer Howard's wife, Lizzie (Eliza Ann Bills), died in November 1904 in London, shortly before she had been due to move to a new house in Letchworth with her husband. As
22192-761: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with
22344-651: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed
22496-415: Was successful, with the name of the railway station being changed in 1999 and the SG6 post town changing from Letchworth to Letchworth Garden City in 2003, the town's centenary year. There are two tiers of local government covering Letchworth, at district and county level: North Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council . In addition to these local government bodies , Letchworth
22648-406: Was the manufacture of corsets ; the Spirella Company, an American business, founded its British subsidiary in the town in 1910. In 1912, they built the first phase of a large factory, the Spirella Building , designed by Cecil Hignett in the Arts and Crafts style. It was completed in 1920. The building's prominence in the town led to it being nicknamed "Castle Corset". During the Second World War ,
22800-514: Was to be capable of diving to a depth of 130 feet (40 m) and travelling up to 40 miles (64 km) underwater. Design work began towards the end of 1942 with the building of a 1/4 scale model which was used for tests in an experimental tank at Vickers ' plant at St. Albans . By February 1943 the tests had produced several alterations to the original design including modifications to the hull form to make it stable under tow at speeds of 10 knots (19 km/h) - 15 knots (28 km/h). Following
22952-611: Was to create a new type of settlement which provided jobs, services, and good housing for residents, whilst retaining the environmental quality of the countryside, in contrast to most industrial cities of the time. The town's initial layout was designed by Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker . It includes the United Kingdom's first roundabout , Sollershott Circus, which was built c. 1909 . The layout for Letchworth incorporates extensive parkland and open spaces, including Norton Common and Howard Park . A takeover of First Garden City Limited in 1960 led to significant changes in how
23104-488: Was too large to be given a successor parish , and so it became an unparished area , governed directly by North Hertfordshire District Council , with county level services provided by Hertfordshire County Council . North Hertfordshire District Council established its headquarters in Letchworth in 1975 at the newly-built Council Offices on Gernon Road, which had been built as part of the Central Area (later Garden Square) Shopping Centre redevelopment. Between 2005 and 2013,
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