LRE United Kingdom

LRE United Kingdom (Liberation Route UK) was founded in December 2020. The main objective is to create a network of museums, organisations and locations across the UK to highlight the history and heritage of the UK during the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. This includes highlighting the stories of many of those allied nations who would come to the UK to fight the oppression of the Nazi’s and eventually liberating Europe. LRUK aims to promote respect for and dissemination of the universal values of peace, freedom and democracy.

The organisation wants, therefore, to collaborate with all the bodies and associations that in various capacities work in this area for the enhancement of places and the preservation of memory as well as to increase common knowledge about the Second World War but also to attract the interest of a larger international public eager to know this common heritage.

The Liberation Route UK has been established as a “community interest company” (CIC) registered in the United Kingdom. 

The LRE Foundation

 

The LRE Foundation is a growing international, inclusive network that connects people and organisations dedicated to preserving and valorising the tangible and intangible cultural heritage related to World War II, its memory and meaning. The organisations main objective is to make this history relevant and accessible, especially for the younger generations. The Foundation has its roots as a regional project established in 2008 in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region in the Netherlands. The organisation has now grown to have two offices in the Netherlands and Belgian with national branch organisations in other European countries. In total, the organisation has more than 100 members in 11 European countries as well as 400 partners and stakeholders in Europe and North America. 

Apart from the organisation based in the United Kingdom, national branch organisations have been established in Italy (2019), France (2021) and Germany (2022). 

The LRE promotes diversity by developing a multi-perspective understanding of the history of World War II. As each country had a different wartime experience, it is our goal to present each perspective in relation to each other.

The board and governance

An International Supervisory Board governs LRE Foundation, while an Historical Advisory Board, comprised of leading historians, works to define the organisation’s historical scope, content, and research.

Since 2012, Mr. Martin Schulz, Member of the German Bundestag and former President of the European Parliament, has served as the patron.

Strategic Partners​

The Liberation Route Europe, with its British section Liberation Route United Kingdom, has been a certified cultural route of the Council of Europe since 2019.

The team

Meet the LRE UK team and get in touch.

Ben Mayne
Managing Director

A small dedicated team within England, working alongside our colleagues of the international LRE Foundation are dedicated to visiting and working with members and partners of the LRUK.

The team looks to visit places that have historic connections to the Second World War and then looks to highlight that working alongside local museums in the area. The intention to gain a great exposure and accessibility to this history for all communities.

We work to share the history and heritage of a diverse range of topics around the Second World War, from the story of Indian airmen in the Royal Airforce, Land Army girls in supporting the war effort through to the impact of war on civilians such as those residents of Coventry who suffered in the Blitz of November 1940 on the city.

Members and partners also have the opportunity to work alongside the LRUK on projects and have the potential to make applications for grants such as the National Lottery Heritage Funding.

We look to also work with educational establishments to engage with the younger generation who will in the future carry the torch of remembrance.

Offices & Contact​

LRE United Kingdom

Gables House
62 Kenilworth Road
Leamington Spa CV32 6JX
United Kingdom