Locals have made several attempts to return to the lost village

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Ruins of a village reflected in a pond, Image 2 shows Stone church in Tyneham, Dorset, with surrounding graveyard, Image 3 shows Peter Wellman, the last resident of Tyneham, in his former schoolhouse

THE last resident of an eerie lost village abandoned in WW2 has passed away.

The village was once home to more than 220 people who were all evacuated during the war and never returned.

Peter Wellman, the last resident of Tyneham, a World War II ghost village, standing in front of the village ruins.

Peter Wellman, the last surviving resident of Tyneham

Credit: BNPS

Stone church in Tyneham, Dorset, with surrounding graveyard.

The church at Tyneham has now been turned into a museum

Credit: BNPS

Black and white photo of Peter Wellman, second from left in the front row, with his school class in 1927.

Peter as a child at school in Tyneham

Credit: BNPS
The village was used as a training camp for allied soldiers in 1943.

Peter Wellman was the last surviving resident of the village, he has now sadly passed away from Pneumonia.

He managed to make one final trip to his old home before his passing.

Villagers were promised they could return when the war was over but were never allowed.

On his last visit to the ‘ghost village’ Peter 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.

Ruins of a village reflected in a pond.

The village was abandoned to make way for military training camps

Credit: Alamy

Ruins of Tyneham village in Dorset, UK.
The buildings in the village have begun to crumble

Credit: Alamy
“I remember going to the beach and fishing and we often had mackerel. We were happy until we got moved out.”

The eerie ruins of the village are still on MoD land but they are open to the public for most of the year.

When Tyneham was abandoned, a single note was left by a local asking the arriving soldiers to take good care of the village.

Some of the villagers settled into newly built homes in the nearby town Wareham.

Not one resident ever returned to the village after the war, leaving it a spooky ruin.

Peter Wellman, the last resident of Tyneham, in his former schoolhouse.

Peter visiting his old school on his last trip to Tyneham

Credit: BNPS

Black and white photo of a group of children, possibly a school class, from 1927. Peter Wellman is in the front row, second from the left.

Peter and his classmates at school in Tyneham before it was deserted

Credit: BNPS
A public inquiry, several protests and a number of campaigns to bring the residents home have been launched over the years.

These have all been unsuccessful with a compulsory purchase order being issued and the village remaining the property of the MoD.

Many of the old buildings have been deemed uninhabitable, crumbling over the years.

The school and the church have been converted into museums to teach the public about the villager’s sacrifices.

Eerie photos show bits of the village frozen in time with old posters still hanging in the phone box.

Derelict cottages in Tyneham, Dorset, UK.

The village lies near the coast

Credit: Alamy

Peter Wellman, the last resident of Tyneham, standing by the ruins of his childhood home.

Peter visited Tyneham with his family often

Credit: BNPS

Peter Wellman, the last resident of Tyneham, standing in the abandoned village.

Peter said he would have liked residents to return to the village

Credit: BNPS
Peter Wellman is survived by his two children, his two grandchildren and his three great grand children.

Peter’s daughter Lynne spoke of her fathers love for his lost home saying he visited regularly.

Peter worked on a farm for 36 years before moving into a job in the clay industry where he stayed until retirement.

He said he would have liked to see residents return to the village one day.

Tyneham has become an increasingly popular destination for history buffs.

The lost village is now crumbling and coming apart giving it an eerie feel.