The villages of Wingrave and Aston Abbotts continue to mark the connection with the Czech Republic and Slovakia which was forged during the Second World War when the Czechoslovak government was forced into exile by a Nazi invasion. President Edvard Benes lived at the Abbey, Aston Abbotts and his Cabinet was housed at the Manor House (now Mount Tabor) in Wingrave.
On 25th July 2021, a plaque highlighting this history was unveiled at Aston Abbotts and now the Memorial Association for Free Czechoslovak Veterans has offered to install a similar one on the Green at Wingrave close to the memorial bench donated by the late President, Vaclav Havel, in 1998. The Parish Council has gratefully resolved to accept this kind offer and the plaque is likely to be in position next summer.
In the meantime, a ceremony took place at the Abbey, Aston Abbotts on 30th October 2021. The newly appointed Czech Ambassador, Marie Chartadova, accompanied by Countess Howe, the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, solemnly unveiled a wooden plaque at the Linden of Liberty. The linden, or lime tree, is the national emblem of both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The significance of the Linden of Liberty is that it was planted as a seedling by President Benes to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of his country on 31st October 1943.
The ceremony was generously hosted by Mr and Mrs Bejerano, the new owners of the Abbey, and it was attended by members of our Association as well as local dignitaries, military attaches and two local people who went to school in Wingrave with Czechoslovak children during the war.
Aston Abbotts, 30th October 2021
