13-05-2025
Last surviving resident of D-Day ghost village dies aged 100
The last surviving resident of a ghost village evacuated for use in D-Day training has died aged 100.
Tyneham, Dorset, became known as the 'village that died for England' after its residents were evicted so it could be used to train Allied soldiers.
Peter Wellman, born in 1924, was the last remaining person born in the abandoned coastal settlement before he died in April.
In 1943, 250 residents of the village and nearby farms were evacuated so it could be used to practise house-to-house combat before the Normandy landings.
They were promised they could return once the war was over but they were never allowed back, and the village remains under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence to this day.
Mr Wellman's primary school and church have been left as time capsules from the period.
On his last visit to the village, in 2024, the great-great-grandfather recalled growing up without electricity and running water.
He said: 'We had no electricity, no mains gas and no running water – we had to pump that from near the church, there's a tap there now.
'I remember going to the beach and fishing and we often had mackerel. We were happy until we got moved out.'
He added: 'They were told they could come back but they were never allowed.'
Mr Wellman's ancestors had lived in the village for generations and he was the last person to speak with an authentic Tyneham valley voice, which has a rich Dorset burr.
He left the village at the age of 14 and worked on a farm for 36 years before switching careers to the clay industry.
Lynne, Mr Wellman's daughter, said: 'Dad always loved Tyneham and he visited regularly until he had a fall a few years ago. He was delighted when we took him back last year.
'He loved talking to people there and telling them about the village and what life was like. He moved out of Tyneham before the war due to work, but not far away. Then in 1943 everyone was forced out.
'He had been living happily in Swanage and died peacefully in his sleep after suffering from pneumonia.'
The village is now a tourist attraction that is open 160 days of the year.
Elise Neville from James Smith Funeral Directors, part of the Douch Family Funeral Group, who is arranging the funeral, said: 'Peter is the last living link to the village of Tyneham and with him departs a piece of history.
'So many of the small communities in and around the Isle of Purbeck have families who go back many generations, and Peter is one of them. It is a great privilege to arrange Peter's funeral.'
His funeral will take place in Corfe Castle on May 22.
