Visit Essex awards a blue plaque to Abberton Reservoir to mark Essex Day

29th October 2025

Visit Essex, the county’s tourism organisation, is awarding a blue plaque to Abberton Reservoir in celebration of Essex Day (26 October) following a public campaign.

As part of this year’s Essex Day celebrations, Visit Essex launched a campaign back in September to uncover the unsung heroes and milestone moments that have helped shape the county. The public was invited to nominate a momentous event or person that makes Essex unique and hundreds of people responded.

The winner, Abberton Reservoir, was chosen as it played an important role in World War II. The RAF 617 squadron team were in charge of dropping the ‘bouncing bomb’ and they practised their dare devil flight over Abberton reservoir. Their actions were made famous in the 1955 film ‘The Dam Busters’.  

The judging panel consisted of Councillor Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, Lisa Bone, Tourism and Place Marketing Manager, Visit Essex and Ben Fryer, BBC Essex presenter. The team looked at every nomination before selecting Abberton Reservoir as the overall winner. 

The campaign has helped Visit Essex shine a light on the county’s hidden histories and treasures as part of Essex Day. Councillor Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, explains: “Essex Day is a wonderful chance to celebrate our amazing county. The nominations clearly showed the diversity in Essex with so many cultural and historic places, plus outstanding people nominated. Each were very worthy nominations, but in the end, we had to choose one, and Abberton Reservoir was our winner.”

He continued: “On the lead-up to Remembrance it is only more poignant we remember 617 squadron and the role Essex played in this story.”
From the hundreds of entries, a shortlist was selected and included:
-    The former Warners holiday camp and the filming location of the BBC TV comedy Hi-De-Hi in Dovercourt
-    Boudicca, for the uprising against the Romans and destroying the Roman Temple where Colchester Castle now stands. 
-    Thomas Bata, a businessman and philanthropist who started the Bata Shoe Company in Tilbury.
-    Kathleen Garnham, one of Britain’s leading amateur golfers prior to WW II. She learnt the game at the Naze Links Golf Club at Walton-on-the-Naze. The Naze Links Café is built upon the former first green of the golf course.

Visit Essex hopes the campaign will also inspire residents to discover more about the people and places on their doorsteps. Cities and towns from Colchester to Loughton have their own historical blue plaque trails for people to follow. 

To discover more about the county’s blue plaque trails, go to www.visitessex.com. 
ENDS
Notes to the Editor

Spokespeople from Visit Essex and Abberton Reservoir are available for interview. 
VISIT ESSEX
Visit Essex is the official tourism organisation and the only body specifically marketing the whole of the county to the visitor market. We work with visitor attractions, leisure/activity providers, accommodation establishments and other tourism related businesses (including the travel trade, media and wider partners), to ensure that the county remains a leading visitor destination.
Our work encompasses major marketing campaigns, high profile PR work, business support, and the management and promotion of the official Visit Essex brand. Visit Essex will ensure that the county gets the recognition it deserves as a desirable place to visit in the 21st century. We will work closely with partners to develop a sustainable tourism offering for the future, identify new markets and harness visitors at the county's major gateways of Stansted, Harwich, Southend and Tilbury.
Essex Day - Essex Day takes place on 26 October each year, coinciding with St Cedd’s Day. St Cedd, the patron saint of Essex, was a 7th-century missionary who set-up one of England’s oldest churches at Bradwell-on-Sea. The day offers a chance to reflect on Essex’s long history while looking to the future with pride.

FIND OUT MORE
•    Hilary Collins, Big Wave PR, hilary@wearebigwavepr.co.uk