{"id":1023,"date":"2020-09-28T16:50:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T15:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=1023"},"modified":"2021-03-18T11:42:56","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:42:56","slug":"tyneham-a-village-frozen-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/tyneham-a-village-frozen-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyneham: a village frozen in time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>Notice on the door of Tyneham Church<\/span><\/sup><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Until 1943 Tyneham in Dorset was a typical small English village, with a church, school-house, cottages and a nearby manor house. But in November of that year the army requisitioned the village and surrounding land to use for preparations for the D-Day Landings, and the people were forced to leave. As most of them didn\u2019t own their land (it belonged to the Squire) they received compensation only for the produce in their gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Military
Sign near Tyneham<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the residents fully expected to be able to return to their homes after the end of the war, as the notice they pinned on the door of the church makes clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the end of the war came and went, and the village remained in army possession. There were various meetings organised to lobby for its return, and a public enquiry. In response the government produced a white paper setting out the need for land for military training etc. and arguing that in those circumstances they didn’t need to honour their pledge to return the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s Tyneham stands as a testimonial to those who once lived there and to the sacrifice they made (albeit not through choice) in giving up their homes for the country\u2019s \u2018war effort\u2019. The cottages are all ruins, in each of which a moving plaque tells the story of the families who once lived there. <\/p>\n\n\n