The second volume in the Watford in the 20th Century series has been launched at Watford Museum.

And one of the first people to lay their hands on the book was Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill.

The 196-page Watford Observer publication chronicles the history of south west Hertfordshire from 1939 to 1959 and contains a wealth of information about how the area helped win the war before coping with the austerity that followed victory.

After welcoming the Mayor, Group Editor Peter Wilson-Leary thanked all those who had contributed to the publication and helped organise and stage the event on Thursday.

Before introducing the newspaper's former assistant editor, Oliver Phillips, he said he was delighted by the number of people who had ordered the book before it had even been published.

He added: "As with Volume 1, I think we've produced something that will be important in documenting the history of south west Hertfordshire for many years to come."

Mr Phillips presented copies of the book to principal contributors. He described producing the publication as "a labour of love" .

He said: It is gratifying for me to see this work published in book form - those old supplements, dog-eared and left under the atlas in the bookshelf or at the bottom of the canary cage, are now updated and added to considerably, in some cases by as much as 30 per cent."

Watford in the 20th Century Volume 2 is available at

  • Bartholomews, Bedmond
  • Wards, South Oxhey
  • The Pond Post Office, Watford
  • Carpenders Nursery, Carpenders Park
  • Bushey News, Bushey Heath
  • Watford Museum
  • Waterstones, Harlequin Centre
  • WH Smith, Rickmansworth
  • Van Hage garden centre, Chorleywood
  • Londis, Croxley Green
  • Bushey Post Office, Bushey
  • Newsbit, 107 Villiers Road, Oxhey
  • Jameson News, The Parade, Delta Gain, South Oxhey
  • Sainsbury's, Dome Roundabout, Garston
  • Chorleywood Bookshop, New Parade

Volumes 1 and 2 can also be obtained online through this website and from our offices on the Watford Business Park.