A new history trail has been set up to take villagers back to the 1940s.

Guilden Morden Local History Group has been working on a project, entitled Guilden Morden in the 1940s – a village pulling together, since it received a £5,900 Heritage Lottery Fund grant earlier this year.

The fruits of their labour will be going on display at a special exhibition being held at the end of the month, but in the mean-time villagers are being encouraged to take part in the trail, which will help them learn about 12 historic sites in the village. Those who complete the trail can go into a prize draw to win a £25 gift voucher.

Geoff Harper, from the local history group, said: “There are 12 stops on the trail, and each one has a poster with some information about the site’s past and a fairly silly question to answer.

“It’s open to people of all ages, and we hope it will encourage people to think about the village and its history.”

The local history group was formed 18 months ago and has been meeting regularly ever since.

Mr Harper said: “We decided to focus our exhibition on the 1940s because several members lived in the village at the time and wanted to see if they could revive some of their memories.

“We interviewed 16 people and recorded their stories; it’s been quite a big project and we hope to be able to play some of the recordings back at the exhibition.”

The exhibition, which will feature photos, maps and other displays, is being held on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September, 11am-5pm at the Congregational Church, Pound Green, Guilden Morden.

“It’s been very interesting to find out how different the village was then,” said Mr Harper, who has lived in Guilden Morden for 20 years.

“Back then hardly anyone had a car – there were only about half a dozen in the village – and there were a lot more pubs and beer houses, as well as open spaces for children to play in.”

The Guilden Morden Village Trail begins on Saturday, 13 September, and will be open for two weeks. A leaflet with a map of the trail and entry form is available from Guilden Morden village shops, and completed forms should be returned to the shop to be entered into the prize draw, which will take place on September 27.