TYNEHAM GHOST VILLAGE

this is a video of my familys time in this Dorset village before they were forced to leave in 1943,
In November 1943 notice was given to the small population of the village and it's surrounds that they would be required to leave. We have a figure of 252 people from 102 properties in the "Parish of Tyneham", ie., an area that was more than the village, leaving before Christmas, they did however leave behind them what is now a famous notice pinned to the door of the church.

It reads:

'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.'
The church organ and bells were removed to Steeple and other artefacts elsewhere.
The theory was that the village would be returned to the people after the war - it did not happen and in 1948 it received a compulsory purchase order from the army.
One of the ironies that is very apparent when visiting is the telephone box sitting in front of the post office - it was installed a few weeks before the evacuation.
Another is the story of Mark Bond who expected to grow up and inherit the manor house. Born in 1922 at Chideock he moved to Tyneham with his father in 1937 after his grandfather's death in 1935. The two-year gap is apparently because the house had to be let out for a short while to pay death duties.
Mark left Eton in 1940 and joined the rifle brigade. He saw much service and was wounded, captured and re-captured, seeing his wartime out in a German POW camp.
Having taken his place in our armed forces and given King & Country 20 years of his life and leaving as a general, he was only told in 1951 the house was not his to have. That information being kept from him for reasons of secrecy.

That was the end for the village, which was already in poor condition and getting worse over the years, never to be occupied again. It makes for a very sad place.
The church has been repaired and is effectively a museum; the schoolhouse was turned into a museum anyway.
Because the tank ranges are still used the times for visiting are limited to holidays and weekends. There is now a car park especially to take the influx of visitors.
Lets take a look at the 'army factor' in the story line. The First World War brought great tank activity and subsequently activity at Bovington Camp. With that went the need to practice and eventually a gunnery range came into use east of Lulworth.
Come the Second World War all public access was barred. Improving weapons meant larger areas were needed to test on so Warbarrow, Tyneham and thereabouts was taken on.
After the war the War Office compulsorily purchased the area.

[@huevorosado]

finally, something on youtube worth watching, great job, nice historical story told by a caring person.........priceless

[@TheRussfam]

The most saddest place we saw a few years ago, & going back there tomorrow!!!! All these lost souls and the village gone forever. Thank you for sharing the pictures, as for the music was very moving. xx

[@loic1980]

this monday my grandmother who lived in the village met some of her family members who also lived in the village they had not seen each other since 1937 and they met back in there home village. the army were great and took them in to no mans land to their old home. we are finding members of our family all the time thanks to the net. i found that 2 persons i went to school with are my counis

[@villaskulcs]

This is beautiful! We have just visited Tyneham last weekend with my wife - it is amazingly misterious how the past slips over the present amongst those ruins... It was a really unique experience seeing how the pictures on the walls echoing all the villagers living their life and seeing the contrast of the never-happened possibilities. I am sure we'll go back soon. Wishing all the best for those related to the village! Kind regards, Peter

[@thedarkvaleman]

Very, very poignant. The love and commitment that went into this really shows, and there's such a strong sense of the sadness of it all. The music's truly lovely as well. Thank you for posting this.

[@mausfeatures]

This is so wonderful and sad, and the song is perfectly chosen. Thank you so much for sharing this treasure.

[@pedrohar5]

We visited this lovely place on Sunday9-9-2012,we were very moved by all that we saw,thank you for sharing these pictures with us.

[@talitakoomi]

@cods27 This comes late- but I am sorry for your loss... I found this video to be sad and the gov's actions outrageous!! All the history lost!! I am a young middle-aged woman in Colorado with no real family at present and I've never known my heritage except to hear of some long ago kin in the UK. My heart longs for both! Most people don't know how blessed they are to have deep roots and a strong sense of family lore. I hope the days to come bring you peace and joy....

[@joycewade3728]

I hope you have found your heritage and it is a great comfort to you. Wishing you good health and all the best. Joyce

[@barbarahowson8078]

Thank you so much for posting this. It really brings tears to my eyes. All these people torn from their idyllic village forever under the lies and false promises of their return....They disappeared into the mists of time forever......

[@kirstyrunyard7677]

This is exquisite. It is put together with such love and attention. I am a proud Runyard and it's amazing to see photos of my family :) thank you so much

[@thedarkvaleman]

This video's just beautiful. I've watched it many times over the last few years since I first saw it, and it never fails to move me, sometimes to tears. It's a real labour of love. Thank you for making it.

[@williheckaslike]

What a sad, sad film ~ There are many place's in Britain that have had the same fate as Tynham, and Warbarrow ~ It must be horrible to be thrown out of your home's, and to be promised it back, when the war was over ! ! ! ~ I love the music, really emotional, i don't think you could have picked a better track ~ Thank you for posting, even though it made me fill up ! ~ All the very best ~ Geoff

[@loic1980]

It was a joy making it and a joy following in the family foot steps working in the village.

[@olgajama]

A whole different world back then people had values and respect for each other a lovely tribute in to another time

[@ispyispyispy]

What a wonderful collection of photos, such a sad sight now though...

[@olgajama]

Beautiful video a life most people dream of they worked hard but living there would have been so great lovely photos of a bygone era ,you can feel the nostalgia just watching this video ,I often rewatch it such a well put together video thank you for sharing ❤️

[@womananthoughts289]

Thank you for sharing these memories of your families time in Tyneham.

[@Charlyfarly2]

Whilst it seems Idyllic now like most estate villages everyone worked on the estate and lived in a tied house. It was unrelenting hard graft. If you fell out with the family in the big house you were out on your ear to rely on parish relief or, even worse, the horrors of the Poor House. There was much to fear. The Bond family were huge landowners, owning properties at Lutton and Creech Grange (look it up) and several were MP's. When Tyneham was taken over the Bond family received compensation but the residents were only compensated for the loss of garden produce - a pittance. The fact that Tyneham tenants still had to collect water from an outside tap, had earth closets and no electricity in 1943 says it all. Their new accommodation had all mod cons - hot water on tap, baths, electric light and appliances etc. What they sorely missed was the closeness of a tight-knit community broken up by their dispersal but I bet they didn't miss the rest. It is too easy to look back with rose tinted glasses and the idyllic but fictional Downton Abbey. With very rare exception it was exploitation on a vast scale.

[@loic1980]

your right in most of what you say,,,,, in 1945 most villagers had gotten use to home comforts of an inside toilet, running water and electric. how ever the Bond Family dispite being massive land owners were more friends to the workers then bosses. If someone was sick in the village soup and food was sent from the big house to tide them over until all was well. the Bonds even paid for doctors to visit villagers when unwell. but one thing people dont know is the hard life actully extended life expectancy. fetching fresh water and growing their own food most villagers life expectancy in the Tyneham Valley was up to 10 to 15 year longer then other furdel systems. the lift style and the way my nan was brought up means at the age of almost 90 she still going strong. even her grand folks who lived in the village died well into there late 80's in fact my great great nan lived until she was 94. but your right most after the war saw what modan life had to offer and didnt want to return to the harsher life they left behind

[@Charlyfarly2]

I am pleased the Bond family were the exception rather than the rule.

[@Cazj24]

My Grandfather, John Gould was born and raised in the village, he is even in 2 of the photos in your video!!! The one from school, and the picture of the Everetts wedding!! He just recently died (Jan 2010 aged 97) but he always spoke about Tyneham, and we have some wonderful photos and even an accounts book from the church (Tom Gould, his father, was gardener for the Bonds and the church) we are going down to visit Tyneham with our children and to scatter his ashes next week

[@robertsmith5970]

Very interesting and great photos . So good you took the time to do this and leave a personal record of such an idyllic place before it was lost.

[@bovrilking]

Hauntingly and majestically put together video...excellent work

[@JudeMontague]

Very moving thank you for posting these personal photographs

[@lauriecadey4654]

This vid is amazing. I am afraid the govenment and its actions can cause me to feel realy dead inside, a strange empty feeling. I would like to visit this place now, I would like to spend a quiet moment in that grave yard and walk amung the homes of our true english hero's. Wonderfull people bullied into leaving what was theirs. to any remaining family you have my love and respect, so sad. So Sad.

[@suzyqualcast6269]

laurie cadey : same feellng here.

[@SpacedogTelevisor]

A fascinating piece of social history. Thanks.

[@rebeccagirlinawhirl9775]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful family photos. It brought the village back to life and reminded me that it was once a happy place to live. I visited it a few years ago and found it very sad. I read the book by Lilian Bond afterwards.

[@clubsport911]

Beautiful - many thanks for the insight into your world. Perfect music, haunting images and all the time I'm thinking what must it have been like ? Again, thanks PS - what was that music ?

[@lilychu8912]

Thank you for sharing these personal pictures and history of Tyneham. I've read the book The House at Tyneford published in 2011 by Natasha Solomon, which takes place really in Tyneham. Ms. Solomon gives a bit of the history of the village and your video gave me a vivid idea of the setting of the book. I can somewhat understand the disappointment the villagers must have felt before and after their village was requisitioned by the British government. In the 1930s, my family owned a tailor shop in Shanghai (grandfather made evening dresses for the ladies in the foreign quarter) and farm land surrounding Shanghai. When the Communists took over, they confiscate both shop and land. Today, skyscrapers stand over part of the land that once belonged on my family.

[@loic1980]

this music is called Voon by Sigur Ros and islandic band

[@Simon-1965]

I've seen and read about Tyneham many times on a 'that's what happened memo '. I'm now seeing Tyneham in a personal light. So 😢.

[@fanouchi]

Muy triste la historia, para muchos el mundo se paró en ese periodo... Gracias por el video! Conocí este sitio gracias al libro de Natasha Solomons "Le Manoir de Tyneford" (lo leí en francés), bellisimo!!!

[@zzzzz77771]

I was there just today and what a lovely feeling i got at the place. People were happy there, i could tell. It must have been a very warm, close nit and idyllic village.

[@afterthetone]

Fascinating

[@macfunker]

That's so sad, I've only just heard of this place, I'm hoping I can visit.

[@Sansash01202]

Amazing, it must be nice to have such a big family.

[@jhoshinha]

belíssimas fotos.

[@jemimanash6658]

I have literally been to Tyenham village twice and never even realized it was haunted

[@mmedefarge]

@loic1980 I loved the photos but it is truly sad that so many families were separated. War does that but one doesn't expect internal displacement.. I never met nor know my family left behind in a village in rural Spain after the civil war was lost. All scattered like leaves now, I suppose, since Franco made their farms into part of a national park in the Picos. I love the music but one question, Sigur Ros, you say is an "islandic band" do you mean one of the British Isles or Iceland?

[@schizoidboy]

It reminds me of a place that used to be called Doodle town in Southern New York located along the Husdon River. Like this town it was taken over by the army for purposes called Eminent Domain which allowed the government to purchase it over the wishes of the people. It was taken to court and the town lost. The army bulldozed the town and never actually used it. Today it is mostly forest with no traces of the town evident.

[@ToaHannah007]

interesting..... yet a sad story... Tyneham has...

[@sirianstarseed1896]

Mark, any possibilities of speaking with you please? Thanks

[@MagsMacRae-vf6js]

Hi Mark I'm a researcher working on Countryfile. Please could you get in touch regarding your brilliant footage in your items. Thanks Mags

[@loic1980]

thats also how i felt but now i feel diffrent thanks to the army then have helpt keep the memory of my family alive. if the army didnt spend around £100.000 a year to maintain the village it would to lost to time for good

[@Sansash01202]

We went to Tyneham on Sunday, the first time I've visited it, though we only live in Poole. It's a lovely place, but what a sad story - what happened to all the families, did they keep in touch - where did they move to?

[@Funkadelia999]

Hi I thought I would let you know that I've written a short 'ghost story' based on the evacuation of the village of Tyneham in 1943. It's published here: Search for 'Freaky Folk Tales' Kind regards, Paul Hodge (Freaky Folk Tales)

[@MrKimmeridgian]

I live very near tyneham :-)

[@loic1980]

also the village is not a tourist attraction its only known by a few and its location is hard to find by non locals. some parts of the village are out of bounds like the great house. i have visied and its a magical place where i can go and be at total peice if the army were to leave i would think the same place a 8 foot high fence around it and let nature take control but i loved my family to much to let the army leave and the family memories die.

[@loic1980]

i know junes brother Peter as i have interviewed him for some films for tyneham

[@streether]

Hiya, I don't know if you're interested but I'm part of a youth theatre group in Guildford, Surrey, who are devising and performing a short play based on Tyneham. It centres around the girl going missing on the day of them all leaving. Please message me for the link as it won't let me post it here.

[@sirianstarseed1896]

How would you feel about Tyneham being brought back to life???

[@mitchellroe2935]

I understand them taking it for dday practice, but they should have kept their promise.

[@loic1980]

Yes they should your right but the way I look at it my family have gone down in history as part of a story they didn't expect to play a part in and now immortalised

[@Sansash01202]

Didn't you read the info, they own it.

[@schizoidboy]

I don't think it was meant to be.

[@clementbonnerot9045]

Hi! I'm a journalism student from Paris and I'm making a documentary on the 70th anniversary of the D Day preparations. I'd be very interested in visiting Tyneham and meeting with some of its former residents for a video / photo interview. I'm coming to Southampton next week. Please send me a private message if you'd like to help me. You can also follow me on Twitter:@cbonnerot Thanks a lot.

[@loic1980]

its icelandic

[@jupiterjonny]

not scary!

[@loic1980]

this music is called Voon by Sigur Ros and islandic band