Imber Protest 1961
Eviction 1943
Imber residents were evicted with just 47 days notice during World War II, for the village and land to form part of the training grounds for American troops. It was never handed back and to this day remains a training ground for urban warfare. It is open to the public only on selected days. The only residents allowed back are those who have died, to be buried there in the church graveyard. The following is a copy of the letter sent to tenants to vacate:
For Cottage Tenants holding direct from W.D. [War Department]
W.D. Estate Office,
Durrington,
Wilts.
Dear Sir/Madam
Imber Training Area
Arising out of the decision that increased training facilities are to be made available in the Imber area, I regret to inform you that it is necessary to evacuate the major part of the Department's Imber Estate, including your dwelling.
To this end I enclose you formal notice to quit. The area has to be evacuated and made available for training by Dec 17th. In this connection you will note that the formal notice to quit expires on and it is confirmed that there will be no objection, if it assists you, to your remaining in your dwelling as tenant on sufferance until a date not later than Dec 17th 1943.
It is appreciated that apart from the distress the move will cause you, it must inevitably occasion direct expense for which you have no legal redress against the Department. It is however, desired to assist you in this direction as far as is practicable and equitable, and I am directed to state that the Department is prepared in principle but without prejudice to refund to you reasonable expenses incurred by you in respect of the removal of your furniture to your new home, and the travelling expenses thereto of yourself and members of your family at present living with you. In addition, if you are so unfortunate as not to be able to find alternative accommodation, and it is necessary to remove your furniture to store, the Department will refund the cost of removal to store and reasonable storage charges until you can find another house, or until the Imber area is again open for occupation, whichever is the earlier (emphasis added).
Further the Department is prepared if you so desire to take over from you by valuation, any produce in your garden which you are unable to harvest and take with you, and I shall be glad if you will let me have as soon as possible any claim you wish to make under this head.
Yours faithfully,
A.O. Thorne
Lieutenan. Colonel,
Command Land Agent
Souther Command.
Imber residents were evicted with just 47 days notice during World War II, for the village and land to form part of the training grounds for American troops. It was never handed back and to this day remains a training ground for urban warfare. It is open to the public only on selected days. The only residents allowed back are those who have died, to be buried there in the church graveyard. The following is a copy of the letter sent to tenants to vacate:
For Cottage Tenants holding direct from W.D. [War Department]
W.D. Estate Office,
Durrington,
Wilts.
Dear Sir/Madam
Imber Training Area
Arising out of the decision that increased training facilities are to be made available in the Imber area, I regret to inform you that it is necessary to evacuate the major part of the Department's Imber Estate, including your dwelling.
To this end I enclose you formal notice to quit. The area has to be evacuated and made available for training by Dec 17th. In this connection you will note that the formal notice to quit expires on and it is confirmed that there will be no objection, if it assists you, to your remaining in your dwelling as tenant on sufferance until a date not later than Dec 17th 1943.
It is appreciated that apart from the distress the move will cause you, it must inevitably occasion direct expense for which you have no legal redress against the Department. It is however, desired to assist you in this direction as far as is practicable and equitable, and I am directed to state that the Department is prepared in principle but without prejudice to refund to you reasonable expenses incurred by you in respect of the removal of your furniture to your new home, and the travelling expenses thereto of yourself and members of your family at present living with you. In addition, if you are so unfortunate as not to be able to find alternative accommodation, and it is necessary to remove your furniture to store, the Department will refund the cost of removal to store and reasonable storage charges until you can find another house, or until the Imber area is again open for occupation, whichever is the earlier (emphasis added).
Further the Department is prepared if you so desire to take over from you by valuation, any produce in your garden which you are unable to harvest and take with you, and I shall be glad if you will let me have as soon as possible any claim you wish to make under this head.
Yours faithfully,
A.O. Thorne
Lieutenan. Colonel,
Command Land Agent
Souther Command.
The blacksmith, Albert Nash, is said to have died of a broken heart.. “When the time came to evacuate the village they found him slumped over his anvil, crying like a child,” a local historian recalled. “Within a month he was dead.”, he is buried at the village church.
Villagers protested against the evacuation, obviously to no avail, and even on 22 January 1961 approximately 2000 protesters breached security to get to the village seeking its return to the community, concessions since then have enabled access for a few days each year.
Evidence appeared at the Defence Land Committee hearings in the 70s that there had been an agreement that tenants would be allowed to return after the war, but by then, at least, the army had found Imber too useful for urban warfare training, including for Northern Ireland, and the danger to any resident from ordnance used in training on Salisbury Plain in general was considered too great (all such activity is stopped during open days!). Most recently Imber has been used for training soldiers ahead of their deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the already larger urban warfare training facility at nearby Copehill Down receiving a £500,000 upgrade in 2015 it seems unlikely that Imber will be released for habitation once again (the 70s tactical buildings, that most of the historical village was demolished to make way for, lack a certain charm anyway!).
Imber had been a community dependent upon agriculture. Those who were not directly employed on the land were in trades dependent upon it. The decline in population is shown in the census of Imber which shows a peak of 440 residents in 1851 and just 152 in 1931.
Villagers protested against the evacuation, obviously to no avail, and even on 22 January 1961 approximately 2000 protesters breached security to get to the village seeking its return to the community, concessions since then have enabled access for a few days each year.
Evidence appeared at the Defence Land Committee hearings in the 70s that there had been an agreement that tenants would be allowed to return after the war, but by then, at least, the army had found Imber too useful for urban warfare training, including for Northern Ireland, and the danger to any resident from ordnance used in training on Salisbury Plain in general was considered too great (all such activity is stopped during open days!). Most recently Imber has been used for training soldiers ahead of their deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the already larger urban warfare training facility at nearby Copehill Down receiving a £500,000 upgrade in 2015 it seems unlikely that Imber will be released for habitation once again (the 70s tactical buildings, that most of the historical village was demolished to make way for, lack a certain charm anyway!).
Imber had been a community dependent upon agriculture. Those who were not directly employed on the land were in trades dependent upon it. The decline in population is shown in the census of Imber which shows a peak of 440 residents in 1851 and just 152 in 1931.
Imber.org.uk does not manage the village and advises visitors to adhere to all safety advice when there.
Photographs are copyright, but see contact information for re-use restrictions.
Photographs are copyright, but see contact information for re-use restrictions.
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