Imber village in Wiltshire opens to public for rare visit

Some of the buildings which remain at Imber. <i>(Image: Trevor Porter)</i>
Some of the buildings which remain at Imber. (Image: Trevor Porter)
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A Wiltshire village frozen in time since its residents were forced to leave during the Second World War briefly opened to the public for Remembrance.

Imber, on Salisbury Plain, is normally closed to the public but special access was granted on Saturday, November 7, for the annual service at St Giles’ Church.

The service began at 10.50am, ahead of the Last Post and two-minute silence at 11am.

Visitors assembled at Vedette Post 2 at the top of Sack Hill in Warminster before travelling to the village in an escorted convoy from 10.25am.

Anyone arriving after 10.25am was not allowed to travel to Imber, with the road only being opened to those attending the service.



There was no public bus service and visitors were warned that St Giles’ Church has no electricity or toilets.

The unusual arrangements reflect Imber's position within an active military training area.

Around 150 residents were given just 47 days to leave their homes in 1943 after the village was requisitioned for military training during the Second World War.

American troops subsequently used the area for street-fighting training ahead of the Allied invasion of Europe, and the villagers were not permitted to permanently resettle there after the war.

St Giles’ Church, which has medieval origins, remains one of the village's surviving historic buildings and was placed in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust in 2005.

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