I try to visit the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain when it is open to the public (usually 3-4 times a year only).
As it is in the middle of the Salisbury Plain within the MOD Training Grounds there are no toilets there!!!
This shot makes me smile as it looks like a 'Toilet Tardis'. Perhaps if you go 'In through the Out door' you might travel back in time before the village was forever lost to the MOD.
On a more serious note here is a short resume of why Imber is only open 3-4 times a year.
'Given nowhere to go Imber's villagers were liberated of their homes in 1943, with just 47 days notice, to make way for American troops to train for the liberation of Europe during World War II. With foresight the Ministry of Defence, as it is now called, had before the war bought up the farms and even the village itself to make Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire the largest military training ground in the United Kingdom. Thus the villagers were 'just' tenants, so were easily made to go, but as they understood it only until the war ended. Salisbury Plain remains, even today, too useful a training ground, so the villagers were never allowed back.
Love your toilet tardis. It is so humorous. Great shot.
Interesting story about the villagers, I guess the national good was more important than a few people in a tiny village.
@cutekitty Thank you. Yes the villagers were never compensated for anything as far as I know. Some move to the village I was born in & I knew a few of the Imber Refugees.
@tramway Thanks - glad you like fun shot. Imber has an interesting story and you are right the national good was the thing, however, I think if the MOD was honest and said you are are never going to return the displaced villagers would have been more sympathetic, as it was, they felt betrayed by the government who never as far as I know know apologized for their deceit.
A humorous shot on many levels, it made me chuckle! I am glad you included the history and detail in your post and replies. It has a sad side story to it i think, and one that should not be forgotten. I am sure many of those misplaced villagers lost a lot...for the good of the country, but have been silently forgotten. 365 is just a small window, but one you have opened to the plight of those that selfishly gave up so much and who received so little in return!
@ukandie1 Thank you Andy. I am glad you liked my humour. On another level thank you for your interest regarding the story of Imber. Many villagers were deeply effective by the move. 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.
@ajisaac This is a prime example of why stories need to be passed, not just from family to family, but to a broader audience, even if it stats from a funny photo :) Thank you for passing it on to me!
Interesting story about the villagers, I guess the national good was more important than a few people in a tiny village.