A ghost village abandoned 80 years ago during World War Two will be open to the public for three days this Easter.
Imber Village located on Salisbury Plain, Wilshire has been nicknamed the “loneliest village in England” as it has remained frozen in time since the 1940s after residents were evicted from their homes in 1943.
Around 150 villagers were asked to leave Imber after it was believed at the time to be the ideal place to train American soldiers for D-Day.
Residents were given 47 days notice to pack up their things but it was believed locals would be allowed to return after the war but were not permitted.
For decades the village has been deserted and become famous for how isolated it is, and there is even a rhyme about Imber: “Little Imber on the down/seven miles from any town.”
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Nowadays the village remains occupied by the Ministry of Defense, but for the next five days Imber and its surrounding roads will be open to visitors.
From Saturday, March 30, April 1, people will be allowed to look around some of the remaining cottages and visit the historic St Giles Church.
It is believed Imber village has existed since the Saxon times and that the church dates back to the 13th century.
The village also still has a pub called Bell Inn, a post office, a school house and a manor house called Imber Court which still still stands.
Lord Peter Hendy of Richmond Hill and Imber runs a charity bus to hold a church service once a year at Imber and has also planted a Yew tree in the churchyard to honour the former villagers.
In an interview with the BBC, Lord Peter said: “I think it is an extraordinary place and it’s haunted by the ghosts of the people who used to live here and the ghosts of thousands of military people who’ve trained here.
“But when nobody else is here, this is a very quiet, peaceful part of Wiltshire.”
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Although many of the occupants were upset to leave, many believed they were making sacrifices for the war effort or would be allowed to eventually return.
However, one resident named Albert Nash, who has been the local blacksmith for over 44 years, was found sobbing at his anvil before leaving and leaving the village had a great impact on him
Ken Mitchell, Albert’s grandson, was aged 17 when the family were asked to leave and told the BBC the announcement was like “a bombshell dropped on the villagers.”
He said: “The elders were called together for a meeting in the schoolroom and when they were told, it was a complete surprise.
“Albert was very upset and it hit him very hard. He moved to Bishops Cannings, near Devizes, but he had lost the will to live and only survived four or five weeks.”
Ken added: “There was no anger at the time. Dismay and disappointment, yes, but the anger took a long time. They felt they were helping the country and helping the war effort, and they thought they were coming back.”
