EARLY 20TH CENTURY

From the early years of 19th century, the town's residents included many families with connections with those who had served in India. By 1900 there were so many ex-colonials living in the town that Cheltenham was called 'the Anglo-Indian's Paradise'. Cheltenham's population increased to almost 50,000, but between 1901 and 1921 the number of residents actually fell by more than a thousand and many large houses in town were empty.

Cheltenham Town Hall

The town attempted to boost its economy by attempts to revive the popularity of the spa waters. The demolition of the Assembly Rooms to make way for a bank prompted the council to built a new venue - the Town Hall, which opened in 1903. The Town Hall became the location for a new Central Spa and the water was served by an attendant.

Another way to prosperity was the development of light industry. H. H. Martyn & Co. was a major employer in the town with workforce of over 200. This company gained a worldwide reputation for fitting out many of the most famous ocean liners, including Titanic. During the first world war it produced aircraft wings and fuselages. In 1917 Martyn's established the separate Gloucestershire (later Gloster) Aircraft Co. and went on to produce some of the best known aeroplanes in the history of aviation. George Dowty joined the company in 1924 as a draughtsman and in 1931 he set up his own company and by 1939 his company was the area's largest employer with over 3000 employees.

THE TWO WORLD WARS

During the First World War Cheltenham provided many Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospitals for the wounded soldiers. A fully equipped operating theatre was located at Prestbury Park. Wounded soldiers of many nationalities were shipped to Southampton and then to Cheltenham on special trains. Between 1914 and 1918 the hospitals received 36,000 casualties and only small percentage of patients failed to recover.

The Second World War affected Cheltenham in a number of ways. It was converted into a cosmopolitan place and the uniforms of all the forces of the Allies were seen here. The American Forces occupied numerous buildings including Pittville Pump Room. Several schools, hotels and garages were taken over, and in one of the garages, the Regent Garage, which was on the site of today's Regent Arcade, Frank Whittle assembled Britain's first jet engine in 1940-41.

Cheltenham suffered a number of bombing raids in 1940 and 1942. One of the worst raids were on 11 December 1940, when 600 residents were made homeless. Altogether, Cheltenham lost 31 lives in the bombings. The town also lost a lot of its ornamental ironwork, which was scrapped for the war effort.

GCHQ

POST-WAR CHELTENHAM

After the Second World War, Cheltenham continued to develop its role as business and administration centre. The largest of the companies which relocated to Cheltenham after the war is the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which came to Cheltenham in 1952. Till today it is the largest single employer.

Culturally, Cheltenham continued to prosper. In 1945 the first Festival of Music took place, followed in 1949 by the Literature Festival. Much of the central Cheltenham became a Conservation Area in 1973 and so much greater care is taken to preserve Cheltenham's buildings than it was in 1960s, when a great number of Cheltenham's fine buildings fell victims to demolishion.