A report in last week’s Watford Observer regarded a two-year project that has taken place to celebrate Leavesden’s history and heritage that has transformed Leavesden Country Park with sculptures of memories of Leavesden in bygone days. Therefore, serious congratulations must go to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Three Rivers District Council and Warner Brothers for funding to initiate this wonderful innovation of bygone days in Leavesden.

Congratulations must also go to Mr Will Lee, the chainsaw artist who created the woodwork sculptures. The amount of detail Mr Lee manages to reproduce in his sculptures are quite remarkable and a feature of distinction.

One of Mr Lee’s sculptures does have a special interest for the village of Leavesden. The sculpture of the jet engine that is described as Will Lee’s Ghosts in the Machine sculpture is not correct. The sculpture should be described as the Goblin in the Machine sculpture. Therefore, Mr Lee’s sculpture depicts a De Havilland Goblin engine and not a Ghost engine. The difference between the Goblin and Ghost engines was very easy to identify. The Goblin was fitted with single combustion chambers whereas the Ghost was fitted with twin combustion chambers. Goblin engines were the brainchild of Major Frank Halford who was engaged by De Havilland to take charge of the development of the Goblin jet engine in 1941. In 1943 the Goblin powered the first British jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor. The De Havilland Ghost jet engines came along in 1947 and powered the world’s first jet airliners, Comets one and two.

In September 1945 Watford Borough Council wisely decided to secure future employment for thousands of local people and recommended the Ministry of Defence grant a lease to the De Havilland Company to enable aircraft and aircraft engine production to continue at Leavesden, thus securing the future of the company and jobs for thousands of people for many years.

From January 1940 till June 1993 the De Havilland site had played an integral important part of the history and heritage of Leavesden village.

Ernie Mackenzie

Gammons Lane, Watford