A “ghost village” evacuated almost 80 years ago will host what could be its last funeral for a man who lived there as a boy.
The settlement of Imber on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire was cleared during the Second World War so that the area could be used for troop training ahead of the D-Day landings.
The villagers have never been allowed to return and it remains part of a Ministry of Defense training area, with people only allowed to visit occasionally.
However, in January, St Giles’ Country Church is likely to be packed for the funeral of Ray Nash, who died aged 87 and wished to be buried in the churchyard.
His son Kelvin Nash, 63, a Wiltshire councilor, said his father had always wanted to be buried with his own father, Jim, who died just before Ray’s first birthday.
Ray Nash’s family home in Imber Photo: Kelvin Nash/SWNS
Ray Nash, who worked as a mechanic in the market town of Devizes and served in the army in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, left the village with his family after his father’s death in 1936.
Although he didn’t remember the time he lived there, Ray always felt drawn back and visited almost every year when there were open houses.
Photographs of the family on their visits show them standing at the door and windows of the family home, which still stands.
Kelvin Nash said he thinks his father will be one of, if not the last person to be buried in the village. He said: “Every year on St Giles’ Day, September 1, we would go to visit the church and the village, which would be open to the public.
“My great uncle Albert was the village blacksmith and was evacuated in 1943. He died in 1944 of a broken heart – it was a difficult thing for the family.
“I think the last funeral was about 10 years ago, so he [Ray] he may be the last person ever to be buried there.
“The process of arranging the funeral was much easier than I imagined. There is a man who has been volunteering to look after the village for 17 years, who has ties to the Ministry of Defense. He arranged everything for us.”
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the most popular stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to secure our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
As Ray lived in Imber and was baptized there, he qualifies for a place in the churchyard.
Kelvin Nash said: “We will have to be escorted by the army into the village, so we will be taking all 100 or so people attending the funeral by bus from Devizes.
REME Blandford Photo: SWNS
“I went there a week ago to check his father’s grave. It was 7am and -6 degrees, but the sky was completely clear and the sun was just rising. It was really quite peaceful, there wasn’t another person within a five mile radius.’
Troops were first quartered in the village estate, Imber Court, in 1916. From 1927 the War Office began buying up land and letting it back to farmers and by 1932 all agricultural land was in government hands. The village was evacuated in November 1943 for the training of American troops.
In the early 1950s, the War Office (now the Ministry of Defence) kept the church in a modest state of repair until its final future was decided. In 2002, responsibility for the Grade I listed building returned to the Diocese of Salisbury.
Add Comment