Arthur laid to rest at Tyneham (From Bournemouth Echo)

Arthur laid to rest at Tyneham

7:00am Monday 1st February 2010 in

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THE last known former inhabitant of the Dorset “ghost village” that was commandeered by the Army during the Second World War has been interred there 70 years on.

Photographer Arthur Grant grew up in tiny Tyneham and was one of the 250 villagers evacuated so that soldiers could use their homes to train for the D-Day invasion.

Although the residents were told they could one day return, the village was abandoned for good.

Arthur, who died aged 87, is now back in the hamlet’s church cemetery after his widow, Grace, family and friends laid him to rest.

It was his dying wish to return to Tyneham, where he attended the village school and pumped the organ at St Mary’s Church.

His son Geoff, 49, and daughter Annette attended the service along with 15 other mourners.

Geoff said: “He had never wanted to move back to Tyneham to live and was very pleased with the work the Army was doing to preserve what is left.

“But it was his wish that he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes interred in the churchyard.

“As far as I know, he was the last surviving inhabitant of the village so it really is the closing of a chapter of history.”

After the ceremony, Geoff and Annette found their father’s ruined family home and went into the old school building where Arthur’s name remains next to his peg.

Geoff said: “He has the privilege of being one of the very, very few who have been buried there, and we’re very grateful to have been granted permission.”

In 1943 the War Department issued clearance notices on 106 properties in and around Tyneham. Villagers gave up their homes and were relocated.

Sunday school teacher Helen Taylor pinned a note on the church door, reading: “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.”

Arthur, who lived in Wareham, was a long-time contributor to the Daily Echo. What is left of the village is now part of an MOD firing range.