Alone In The Dark Entertainment

By Victoria Ashford »

The ghost village of Imber on Salisbury Plain near Warminster has been brought back to life in a documentary on abandoned villages across the UK.

Author Henry Buckton, of Glastonbury, interviewed the grandson of one of Imber’s most respected blacksmiths, Albert Nash, as well as Neil Skelton of the Churches Conservation Trust, as part of his research for the documentary, called Britain’s Lost Villages, now released on DVD..

Mr Buckton said: “There are about 3,000 lost villages in all but I was trying to find villages where there are still villagers living today.

“I tried to recapture life in these villages and what is was like for them.

“I also looked at the industry and jobs that people did and the different little things that went on. It’s not just lost villages but lost lives as well.” In 2006, the Wiltshire Times published an appeal calling for former villagers of Imber to come forward to contribute to Mr Buckton’s 2008 book (also called Britain’s Lost Villages), which the documentary is based on.

In September 1943, the 135 residents of Imber were given six weeks to leave their homes as the Army needed it to train American soldiers in the type of street fighting they would experience in Nazi-occupied Europe.

The villagers were assured that following the invasion they would be able to return, but the promise was never kept, and the derelict village of Imber remains under Ministry of Defence jurisdiction to this day.

Mr Buckton said: “Everybody was heartbroken, many had lived in the village all of their lives and had never spent a night away from their cottages.

“The blacksmith, Albert Nash, who was a well-respected member of the community, took it particularly badly.

“He became ill and died a few weeks later - the doctor said of a broken heart.”

The only way a resident could permanently return to the village was to be buried in the churchyard. Mr Nash was the first to return.

The prize-winning farrier, was known throughout the village and was often seen repairing farm machinery, manufacturing tools, and bonding cartwheels, which involved putting a metal strip around the wooden wheel.

The once thriving community of Imber also consisted of a school, the parish church of St Giles, the large vicarage, with well-manicured gardens, and a baptist chapel.

The village post office, which opened in 1909, was run by John and Ellen Carter until its closure in 1943.

The DVD is available for £14.95 plus £1 postage and packaging direct from: 1st Take, PO Box 1840, Yate, Bristol BS37 4WB. For more details, call 01454 32161 4.

*A bus service connecting the ghost village of Imber with Warminster will be running during one day in September.

The service, run by the Bath Bus Company, will leave from Warminster Railway Station and Market Place five times during Saturday, September 5, with the first leaving at 9.48am.

Passengers will be able to get off at the village, or go on to Gore Cross and Tilshead, where there are connections to Devizes and Salisbury.

The military-owned village will be closed and only metalled roads around the site will be open for public use.

All other tracks will remain out of bounds in accordance with Imber Ranges Bylaws.

For more details visit http://www.transportfotos.com/imberbus.htm

Hi This reminds me of my time in Germany in the 70’s we trained in a vast area which was set up in 1935. 11 villages in the area and many farms had to be evacuated-apparently with little argument. (Many of these can still be found today-evidence of fruit trees –orchards, stone walls est. can be seen all over the range area). It was quite eerie going through these villages it was also quite fun running a tank through one of the houses LoL.

the time is 23-15. i think your clock needs winding