This is the house in Putney, London where Edvard Beneš lived during the early part of the Second World War before moving to 'The Abbey' at Aston Abbots for the remainder of the hostilities.
After the signing of the Munich Agreement that gave away the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, Edvard Beneš resigned as the President of Czechoslovakia on the 5th of October 1938.
His nephew Bohuš Beneš who was living in Putney travelled to visit him and urged him to leave the country quickly. Arrangements were made and after travelling to Prague the night before, they flew out via Rotterdam to London on the 23rd of October 1938.
26 Gwendolen Avenue, Putney, London became his new home.
At the start of 1939, Beneš was invited by the University of Chicago to give a series of lectures on democracy and he flew out with his wife, arriving in America on the 10th of February 1939.
Following the full Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Dr. Beneš and Mme. Beneš returned to Putney in July 1939 to organise a Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile.
Following the air attacks on London during 1940, and a search for alternative locations, Beneš signed a lease for Aston Abbotts Abbey on the 29th November 1940 and moved out of Putney.
Only a few days later, some of the Czechoslovak buildings in London were hit by enemy bombs.
In 1978, a 'Blue Plaque' was placed on the house in Putney to commemorate Edvard Beneš's presence there.
The Blue Plaque scheme is currently administered by English Heritage and honors mostly people but also a few buidings and events with historical interest, around London.
It's origins can be traced back to 1867 when the Royal Society of Arts started a scheme. This was taken over by the London County Coucil in 1901, and in 1965 the LCC changed to the GLC, and responsibility was transferred to English Heritage.
There are now over 700 official Blue Plaques.
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