BlogGo for Blogger

This is simply a post to authenticate the mobile app 'BlogGo for Blogger'. Does it seamlessly integrate with my MacBook blog? Let's see.....

Tyneham Village - A Casualty of War

The village of Tyneham is nestled in a remote valley in Dorset, five miles by road east of Kimmeridge. These five miles of single track road are twisting and tortuous, up hill and down. One wonders if you will ever arrive but I was determined to find this remote place, which just happens to be an anagram of the village where I was born: Teynham in Kent.

Tyneham was a thriving rural community. The inhabitants were farm workers and fishermen, who paid rent to the village owner Ralph Bond. He inherited the village in 1935 from his father William.

During the 2nd World War much of southern England saw a build up of troop encampments as preparations were made for the Normandy invasion that was to occur on 6th June 1944. Lulworth camp remains today and in 1940, following the evacuation at Dunkirk, thousands of men passed through this camp on the way back to their units.

In 1941 Tyneham House was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force as an administrative centre for the radar station at Brandy Bay, which lay to the east of Tyneham. In 1942 Winston Churchill inspected tanks at Lulworth. The writing was on the wall for the fate to befall Tyneham village.

In November 1943 Winston Churchill's War Cabinet issued clearance notices to all 106 properties in an area of approximately 12 square miles, including Tyneham Village. It was necessary for the British Army to extend its existing training area. The residents were given just one month to leave. And they were never to return. When the residents left they pinned this poignant notice to the church door:

"Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war to keep men free. We will return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly".

In 1945 with the Cold War looming the newly elected government decided to retain the valley and the villagers could not return.

Tyneham church has been beautifully restored

In 1952, Ralph Bond, the last Squire of Tyneham, died "still bitterly unreconciled to the loss of Tyneham and deeply wounded by the government's shabby behaviour and broken promise to return Tyneham to him and its former inhabitants".

In 1967 the Tyneham Action Group was launched by Rodney Legg to campaign for the release of Tyneham and the return of its former families. The publicity produced by this and subsequent groups eventually forced the government to take action. The Lulworth Range land however stayed with the army. But, since 1978 the Army has worked with the Purbeck Heritage Coast project to develop public access to the village (or should I say, the ruins of the village) and surrounding coast and countryside. Buildings have been made safe, coastal paths and walks have been way-marked and information is provided for visitors to the valley.

The remains of Post Office Row, Tyneham

The remains of Rectory Cottages, Tyneham

Part of St. Mary's church interior, Tyneham

Before the 2nd World War, Tyneham was just one of many small isolated Dorset villages. Its residents led a simple life, relying mainly on farming and fishing for their livelihood, oblivious to the future events which would give their home a special place in history. Today the village remains part of the MoD Lulworth Ranges. Only the empty buildings remain, trapped in a time warp. The only positive thought I had as I wandered quietly through the ruins was that the area has remained protected from many of the modern developments that, elsewhere, has changed the face of the Dorset countryside. I thought about the families wrenched from their homes, only allowed to take with them a few chattels. Families that were never allowed to return.

The casualties of war, long forgotten by most... It left me deeply saddened.

  

What? No Wi-Fi?

Ros and I are staying in beautiful Lulworth Cove. The weather has been magnificent. Wall to wall sunshine. Great food, great ale provided by Hall & Woodhouse who own the Lulworth Cove Inn. But, we have had no wi-fi service since we have been here. So presently I am sat above Durdle Door using my Huawei 3 portable router and a Macbook Air to make this short post. I have much to catch up with when I get back home.

The iconic Durdle Door to the west of Lulworth

Chalk cliffs to the west of Durdle Door

So, that's it for now. I am going to enjoy the sun and the birdlife. Have just seen a Peregrine falcon...

More at the weekend.

West to Isle of Purbeck

Ros and I are heading west to Dorset and the Isle of Purbeck. Well, it's not actually an island but its geographical inaccessibility makes it feel like one. Our journey will take us along the A27 and M27, over Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole and through Wareham to our destination of West Lulworth and the Lulworth Cove Inn http://lulworth-coveinn.co.uk

There is much to see in this area of Dorset including Corfe Castle, the Swanage to Norden steam railway, Shell Bay with its superb, soft sands, Durdle Door, Dorset's iconic geographical landform and one of the highlights of the Jurassic Coast, and Tyneham, the village that was evacuated in World War ll and has remained eerily empty ever since.

Probably won't have much opportunity to post over the next week so it's TTFN....

Juvenile Birds - Helping Our Wildlife

My constant vigilance in keeping the bird feeders replenished is paying dividends. For some time now we have enjoyed seeing juvenile Goldfinches and Greenfinches visiting the feeders, particularly those containing sunflower seeds. Today, for the first time, I spotted a juvenile Great Tit, rather grey overall with a shadow of the black streak on the breast developing, and a juvenile Robin, its breast developing a pale pink colour before it will have its full red breast.

So, what is the significance of this? Well, for me it is a clear indication of the need for householders to provide food for our native birds in our gardens, not forgetting the need for water as well. I have two bird baths that are constantly replenished and in continuous use. (Mind you, the rain today has done the job for me).

Today I have recorded Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Starling, Collared Dove and Woodpigeon on the feeders and in the bird baths. They are a joy to watch, are terrible time-wasters and provide me with a certain sense of achievement.

You too can help to reduce the decline of our resident birds. Place a few seed feeders in your garden and add a bird bath. The rewards are very satisfying and you can be assured that you are aiding the survival of birds that might otherwise not make it through the winter.

A world without birds is unthinkable. They need our help...

40 Years of Dark Side

March 1973. Pink Floyd release their eighth studio album. I had moved from Rugby to Bristol in 1972 to be closer to my wife to be. I bought "Dark Side of The Moon" on vinyl and hurried home that evening to listen with a few friends. My bog standard Amstrad system and Dual 505 deck provided the sound. My word. We were totally blown away. The album used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time including multitrack recording and tape loops. The result was a prog rock album like no other. The performance of 'rock chick' Clare Torry on the track "The Great Gig in The Sky", a soulful metaphor for death, left us stunned. Heard near the end of the track, the words: "I never said I was frightened of dying..."

The iconic album cover

So, 1973 saw the release of this great album and my marriage to Rosalind. 40 years on I am still happily married and still listening to The Dark Side. In between times I bought the 25th anniversary edition on CD in 1998 and for some reason I cannot explain, I downloaded the mp3 40th anniversary edition this year.

No other album has had the same impact on me. It is frequently ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time. I wholeheartedly concur with that thought...

Fears for Seabirds

A study by the National Trust has found that Puffins and Terns are among key species in the UK that are being put at risk from global warming. The UK's coastline is being transformed as sea levels rise and storms grow fiercer. The study predicts that sea levels will rise by up to half a metre by the turn of the century and coastal erosion is accelerating.

Puffin chicks are being particularly affected as their preferred meal of sand eels is disappearing, most probably caused by overfishing and changing ocean temperatures. To add to their problem a new fish has moved into UK waters, which the chicks find indigestible. The snake pipefish is having a devastating effect on the puffin population, as it is bony and hard to eat. The report states that some chicks have been found dead, having choked trying to swallow  pipefish.

The snake pipefish

Colonies of puffins can be found in the Farne Islands and at Lundy Island in Devon where burrows were flooded during last year's exceptionally wet summer, which was followed by the unusually long winter. As a result many puffins died of starvation.

Terns are also likely to suffer as they tend to site their colonies just above the high tide line. When storm surges occur their nests can be easily flooded.

Matthew Oates, a specialist on wildlife at the National Trust, said: "With rising sea levels our rich mud flats could simply disappear. Wildlife that relies on the gradual erosion of soft rock cliffs or lives on loose sand and shingle habitats could be caught out by an increasingly mobile landscape as a result of extreme weather...."

Plants, animals and humans will have to live with an increasing rate of environmental change. It's happening now...