Villagers commemorate anniversary

  • Meridian
The telephone box still stands in Tyneham, most of the building are in ruins Credit: ITV Meridian

Seventy years ago this weekend the postman delivered letters through the doors of every house in a village in Dorset. They were eviction notices from the army, telling the inhabitants of Tyneham they had to leave for the good of the war effort. The remains of that village stand to this day inside a restricted military training area.

Martin Dowse tracked down some of the dwindling number of former residents and found out about ongoing efforts to keep the memory of Tyneham alive.

Two hundred and twenty five villagers were evicted. Martin Dowse spoke to Joan Cleall and Peter Wellman, to share their recollections ahead of the 70th anniversary of the clearance.