It is well known how dramatically Borehamwood expanded just after the Second World War, but the impact of social housing is often overlooked.

Elstree Rural District Council already owned some houses before the war ended, but went on to build a further 1,500 between 1945 and 1956.

However, the main development was by London County Council (LCC), which began a massive programme of council house building at the same time, resulting in a further 2,700 properties.

Alan Lawrence, curator of Elstree and Boreham Wood Museum, explained: “The problem was the LCC had a lot of people who had either been bombed out in London, or were living in houses that before the war, would probably have been almost condemned.

“But because there was no house building during the war, they were still living in these houses.

“And on top of that,” added Mr Lawrence, “there was also a very large service population who all came back after the war with effectively nowhere to live.

“So the LCC was given permission by the Labour government of the time to go out within a certain radius of London and look for areas they thought would be suitable for estates of houses.”

LCC therefore purchased 36 acres of land between Eldon Avenue and Cowley Hill in 1944.

In the following year, about 50 German prisoners of war from the nearby camp in Station Road were drafted in to begin the building programme.

By 1949, the 500th council house was opened by Aneurin Bevan, then Minister of Health and Housing.

The population of Borehamwood grew rapidly, more than doubling, from just over 10,000 in 1951, to nearly 25,000 only ten years later.

Arthur Whitby, 86, now living in Grove Road, moved to Theobald Street with his wife and two children in 1952. They had previously been living in rented rooms in Islington.

He said: “Returning from the war, we found our family was growing. We applied to the LCC and in due course, they said would you like to go and live in Boreham-wood? It was like a foreign place at that time.

“The only thing we knew of was Elstree Studios, but we came here and were part of a community.

“Everybody came at the same time and we all mucked in together.”

He added: “In that period, it was innovative that people had their own front door. They had a garden, bathroom and things like that.

“For people moving in from London, it was quite an adventure.”

Council houses have been managed by several authorities over the past half century, transferring from the LCC to the Greater London Council and thento Hertsmere Borough Council.

However in 1994, social housing throughout Hert-smere was handed over to Ridgehill Housing Association, which managed 5,000 properties (the maximum number that could be held by one company), and the remaining 1,500 went to Aldwyck Housing Association.

Andrew Weaver, head of housing and health for Hertsmere Borough Council, explained the reasons for the change.

“The housing associations have greater access to funds to invest, in both the existing housing and new development, so it was beneficial for tenants,” he said.

Ridgehill joined the William Sutton Housing Group in 2004 and the two were amalgamated to form William Sutton Homes last year.

Although some council houses were sold under the right-to-buy scheme, the company still owns more than 4,500 properties in the area.

Meanwhile, Mr Whitby remains a firm believer in council housing. He said: “I think it’s given people a home to live in and bring up their family in decent conditions. There will always be a need for social housing and long may it continue.”