In 1943, residents of Imber and Tyneham were given a month to evacuate so the military could use the land for training. Imber, a remote village on Salisbury Plain, was given 47 days' notice from 1 November 1943. More than eight decades on, it remains an uninhabited ghost village, with no residents, no postcode, and public access granted only on select days.
Known as "the loneliest village in England", Imber was a close-knit community in a windswept valley. The evacuation notice devastated its residents; the village blacksmith, Albie Nash, was found crying over his anvil the next day and died a few weeks later. After the war, the military retained the village, prompting a "Forever Imber" campaign and a debate in the House of Lords, but villagers were never allowed to return.
Today, only the 13th-century St Giles Church has been fully restored, along with the shells of a few original buildings. The church still holds an annual Remembrance Day service, and former residents are eligible for burial in its churchyard. The Ministry of Defence can grant up to 50 days of public access per year, but, according to church custodian Neil Skelton, "I'm not aware that the full 50 days has ever been granted."
Before the pandemic, the village attracted around 16,000 visitors a year. On open days, people explore the medieval church and tend graves. One of the most popular events is "Imberbus", which sees classic Routemaster buses carry thousands of passengers between Warminster and Imber, raising money for charity. Organiser Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill said: "We chose Imber because it was such an unlikely place to operate a bus service to, and it represented a particular challenge as access is impossible for all but a few days a year."
Access remains fragile. Following trespass incidents around five years ago, the number of public access days was cut to three before Skelton persuaded the training area commandant to increase it to the current allocation of more than 12 days. For now, the village continues to offer a rare glimpse of a community that vanished in wartime.
