Village evacuated in 1943 for D-Day training holds its last funeral for man who lived there as a boy

A ‘ghost village’ evacuated and closed in December 1943 is to have its last ever funeral today – for a pensioner who lived there as a boy.

Imber in Wiltshire was cleared by allied forces during the Second World War to make way for training exercises for D-Day.

Villagers were then later refused permission to return to the village – and it remains part of the Army’s Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA).

Ever since it has only been open to visitors a few times a year and to be buried there you need MoD permission and proof you lived there.

It is now set for its last ever funeral today – for Ray Nash who has died aged 87.

Ray Nash (left, pictured with his wife Elaine, son Kevin and his wife, Pam) will be buried today in the village he lived in as a baby that was evacuated by the Ministry of Defence so allied forces could train for D-Day

Kevin Nash, 63, said his father had always wanted to be buried with his own father in the village – who died when he was aged just one. Above: Mr Nash’s family home is seen with his family inside during one of their annual visits

Imber had been occupied since the first century. Above: An image showing the village in the early 20th century

His son Kelvin Nash, 63, says his dad Ray had always wanted to be buried with his father in the village – who died when Ray was just one.

Ray, a former mechanic for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, left the village with his mum after his father’s death in 1936.

Despite barely remembering his time there, he always felt drawn to the place the father he had never known had lived – visiting the site every year that Kelvin can remember.

Photos of the family on their annual visit show them standing in the doorway and windows of Ray’s mother’s home – which is still standing to this day.

He expects his dad will be one of, if not the last person to be buried in the village as it’s unlikely any other residents are still alive eighty years after the evacuation.

Kelvin said: ‘The church in the village was the Church of St Giles, so every year on St Giles day, September 1, we would go and visit the church and village which would be open to the public.

‘My great uncle Albert was the village blacksmith and was evacuated from the village in 1943 – he died in 1944 of a broken heart according to his death certificate, so it was a difficult thing for the family.

‘Quite a lot of relatives would do similar things, but it was quite a small village. I think the last funeral was about ten years ago now, so as time has moved on he may be the last person to ever be buried there.

‘The nice thing is that since his death we have even re-discovered a third cousin of mine who contacted me to come to the funeral – she only lives five miles from the village.

‘The process of arranging the funeral was much easier than I imagined. There is a man who has volunteered for 17 years to look after the village who has connections with the MoD who sorted everything for us.

Imber now forms part of the Salisbury Plain Training Area and is closed off to ordinary civilians for most of the year

A ‘ghost village’ evacuated and closed in December 1943 is to have its last ever funeral – for pensioner Ray Nash (pictured) who lived there as a boy and has died aged 87.

The memorial to Imber residents killed in the First World War is seen above

The military training area with houses built by the MOD are seen above in what was once Imber

‘We will have to be escorted by the army into the village, so we’re taking all the 100 or so funeral attendees by coach from Devizes.

‘I went over there a few weeks ago to check his father’s grave, it was 7am and -6 degrees, but there was a completely clear sky and the sun was just coming up. It was really really tranquil, there was no other human within a five mile radius.

‘It sort of made me think about what life must have been like for farmers living in the village in the 1920’s and 1930’s and how harsh life must have been.

‘Without exception, everyone that I’ve spoken to about dad’s passing, have all had a lovely story to tell* about something that he had said, or did, that has stuck in their minds over the years.

‘It is testament to dad that St Giles, Imber will be filled to capacity with dad’s relatives and friends to celebrate dad’s life and fulfil his lifelong wish to return to Imber and be reunited with the father he never knew.

‘I would like to thank everyone that has helped to make this happen, it’s truly amazing. Particular thanks go to Neil Skelton, custodian of Imber, and our link to the military.

‘Imber village was open to the public as normal over the New Year period, and with 1000 visitors in one day, interest in the village is as strong as ever.’

The funeral for Ray Nash will take place at St Giles Church, Imber, today.

Due to MoD restrictions, unarranged attendance is not open to members of the public.

The church, which is Grade I listed, remains in full working order and in 2008 underwent a £300,000 restoration as part of a project by the Churches Conservation Trust.

The church, which is Grade I listed, remains in full working order and in 2008 underwent a £300,000 restoration as part of a project by the Churches Conservation Trust

The Daily Mail reported on the ‘death’ of Imber in 1948, when officials decided that the village’s residents would not be allowed to return 

The remains of a home that was called the Square House are seen above in 1961

Soldiers are seen standing next to a military vehicle in Imber in 1962, long after residents had been forced to leave

Villagers were given just 47 days’ notice in 1943 to leave Imber, which had been occupied since the 1st Century AD.

The last recorded census for the village, in 1931, showed there were just 152 people living there.

In the war, residents received a letter which instructed them to be out of their homes no later than December 17, 1943.

Despite various legal challenges, locals have not been allowed to return.

Because the War Office – now the Ministry of Defence – had bought up farm land and the land where the village was, this meant residents of the village were only tenants.

Many claimed, however, that they were under the impression that they would be allowed to return when the war was over.

There have been protests against the evacuation, in January 1961, 2,000 people breached security in an attempt to get the village back.

Around a decade later, evidence was heard at the Defence Land Committee concerning Imber’s return but it was decided the land was too useful to the army to warrant it being given up.

Military activity on Salisbury Plain began in 1897 and escalated quickly during the First World War.

Troops were billeted at Imber Court in 1916 and some years later the War Office began buying the land.

By the time of the Second World War, the government owned almost all of the land in and around the village

Imber also contains four council house style blocks which were built in 1938.

In 1943, there was also a Baptist Chapel which was demolished in the late 1970s.