"Tyneham - the village which died for D-Day" Topic

The now deserted and derelict Dorset village – the tenants were thrown out in 1943 to enlarge the tank gunnery range at Lulworth on the promise that they would return after the war. The War Department reneged on the deal in 1948 and kept it. The tenants never returned.

YouTube link

Most of the buildings are roofless today. The village can only be visited for about 130 days a year as it is in the danger zone for tank firing and the nearby hillside is decorated with wrecked tank targets.

A special feature is the wall in Tyneham farm made from scrap metal, shells and projectiles found during renovation and making-safe. Ammunition includes 120mm HESH, 75mm tank, 76mm (Scorpion or Saladin) and bright alloy petals from an APFSDS round.

The walk down to the beach shows knocked-out Saracen and FV432 armoured personnel carriers. At the beach there are WW2 dragon's teeth and an Allen-Williams turret. This latter is a rotating steel turret installed in 1940/41 as an anti-invasion measure.

Featured at the end are some of my still photographs from earlier visits in 2006 and 2010.

Barry

I've seen than on the Travel and History Channels IIRC. I guess it comes down to "for the greater good" sort of thing …

@Legion 4:
The move out in 1943 does fit that understandable scenario, the objections start when the WD kept it in 1948. Does smack of breaking their word, etc.

Barry

My understanding was that they deemed the land so polluted by munitions and such, that it was not feasible to return it.

Then again, considering how many people lost their homes to bombing, and how many were asked to go and die for the war, it puts losing your home in some perspective.

It's a very eyrie place – was there 10 + years ago.

Would love to go back..

Does smack of breaking their word, etc.

Indeed … in many cases Gov'ts just plain lie … as we all know …

This isn't as rare as one would think.
If you visit El Paso Texas, on the East side on the slop up the mountain is an extended part of Fort Bliss, as well as WBAMC, (William Beaumont Army Medical Center, aka "The Post Hospital"), all of this area now paved over with roads, apartments, condos etc, was once part of the WW2 Fort Bliss, tank gunnery and bombing ranges. Despite the fact that it was deemed safe decades ago, one in a while stuff is still found during construction.

Yes, many US posts expand as needed. E.g. Benning & Campbell have old cemeteries/family plots, etc. on post. Some are just abandoned. In the middle of nowhere.

While some of those are still active with kin visiting and leaving flowers. Some in the middle of nowhere or even next to ranges, DOD structures, etc. And yes, even abandoned ranges that have been cleared[hopefully] now overgrown out in wooded. etc. training areas, etc.

Needs of the Gov't come first …