A Day Trip to the Forgotten Casualty of War

After spending our break away at Limestone Hotel we decided to do a little day trip to this beautiful forgotten village.  Malcolm had read about it and suggested we go explore.

So pleased we did.

A beautiful location lead to the downfall?

One of the forgotten casualties of World WarII on the Isle of Purbeck is a small coastal village in a beautiful location. It is situated near the Bovington military firing range.

Sadly the location of the village lead to its downfall.

It all began back in 1943 with a month's notice

World WarII, the military's preparation for D Day was well underway and the Army needed more space.

On 17th November 1943 the people of Tyneham Village received a letter from the War Office giving notice to the 225 residents to leave their homes by 19th December!

We're sure you'd like to help

The letter they received said

 "The Government appreciate that this is no small sacrifice which you are asked to make, but they are sure that you will give this further help towards winning the war with a good heart." (taken from Tyneham feature)

They were advised that a special office would be made available in Wareham for questions from the residents of Tyneham.

So Tyneham Village was evacuated and has been deserted ever since.

Most of the village is now derelict,

with little pieces of history pinned to the walls.  It is very humbling and incredibly interesting to walk around this beautiful place.

The Church has been restored with its beautiful stained glass windows. It has become a museum for the small village. 

Pinned to the door is a reminder of how the villagers felt and their hopes of returning one day ..... sadly which was not to be.

Although the school actually closed in 1932, long before the evacuation. It is still lovely to see and a reminder of how schools used to be.

The school has been left as if the children had just gone out to the playground.  Loved it :)

The exhibitions in the Church and School are open from 10am to 4pm when the village is open to the public.

It is well worth a day trip to Tyneham Village.  Entrance is an honesty box for donations.  I do hope visitors use it as it would be sad for it to close.

This was a memorable visit and one we would have been sad to miss.

When we were there pretty snowdrops had started to bloom in the grounds.  The snowdrop is aptly named 'the flower of consolation'.

Thanks for joining us on our day trip to Tyneham.  If you go be sure to let us know what you think too.

Where to next?

Safe travels all

Jan and Malcolm :)