Rex Sawyer

After being disappointed by two fictional accounts of the 'ghost village' in Wiltshire, I decided to stick to the facts instead (and got a signed copy too!) Thanks to Michael Portillo, recently I have been absolutely fascinated by Imber, which was taken over the War Office/Ministry of Defence during the Second World War and never given back to residents. Rex Sawyer's brief but detailed book is the 'bible' of Imber, from the history of the small settlement to the battle with the authorities in the 1960s. Sawyer paints a fair picture of events, talking to former villagers and reporting the Army/government's perspective - I think most of Imber's charm lies in its doomed fate rather than the handful of houses that only around 150 people called home before eviction in 1943. Although reading this at the same time as Jane Austen's Emma, I can imagine that nineteenth century Imber could almost have been the template for Highbury, with the 'big house' and established families. A sorry tale, but nearly all that remains of the village today is the church and the urban legend of Little Imber's demise.… (plus d'informations)