In the southwestern outskirts of London is Teddington and there lay Bushy Park. Between March and August 1944, SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces) had its headquarters in the park. Headquarters code name was Widewing. SHAEF’s former headquarters were in Norfolk House, London. In July 1942, the air force had its headquarters in Bushy Park. SHAEF was responsible for all military operations carried out by the western allies between December 1943 and May 1945. SHAEF supreme commander was the american General Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was in Bushy Park that Eisenhower, together with his staff, refined the details of the forthcoming invasion of Normandy, June 6. On June 2, 1944, Eisenhower moved his headquarters to Southwick House, north of Portsmouth, to get closer to the troops involved in the invasion. He returned to Bushy Park a few days after the invasion.
Current status: Demolished with monument (2014).
Address: SHAEF Gate, Hampton Wick, Teddington, Greater London TW11 1AQ.
Get there: Local train to Teddington station.
Follow up in books: Beevor, Antony: D-Day: Battle for Normandie (2010).
All the barracks were demolished in 1963, but Eisenhower’s office has been marked out and provided with a memorial plaque. Also the gate (SHAEF gate) into Bushy Park remains. The park itself is a hybrid of park/wild area with wild deer.