Rebuild Essex, rebuild Britain

75 years since the rebuilding began after World War II, there is a new rebuilding project on the horizon. Stephen Roberts explains the important role Essex played then, and will surely play again

-  Stephen Roberts

Although the commemorations were subdued by lockdown, our nation recently marked the drawing to a close of World War II, rightly acknowledging the 75 years since VE Day that saw the end of war in Europe. But even with victory assured, our country and its population had been ravaged by war, being left with much rebuilding to do.

And today, as we remember the 75th anniversaries of these key moments in history, there is more rebuilding to do. The threat of Covid-19 remains very real, but there appear to be the earliest glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, as our nation looks towards a new normal, rather than the intensity of full lockdown.

While the road appears long and uncertain, with gloomy forecasts for the national and local economy, we should remember that we have faced similar challenges before (more than once, in fact). As a nation and a county, we have recovered, and we can do so again.

There’s no getting away from it, World War II was the most destructive war in human history, with a conservative estimate of 60 million dead worldwide, the majority of them noncombatants. The war lasted a full six years and left country and county at a low ebb, struggling with destruction and debt.

Essex suffered. Chelmsford, a centre of light engineering, including the famed Marconi factory, was heavily bombed. A raid of May 13, 1943 left more than 50 dead and nearly 1,000 homeless, while a V-2 narrowly missed both the Marconi factory and Hoffmans ball-bearing factory on December 19, 1944, but still killed another 39, with nearly 150 injured.