November 1990:
A former inhabitant of the ghost village of Imber on Salisbury Plain talked to Sir Harry Secombe for the Remembrance Sunday edition of the HTV programme Highway.
Viewers will see Molly Archer-Smith recall life in the village which was evacuated in 1943 and has been used as a training ground for the Army ever since.
Molly Archer Smith is a member of the Dean family, who, with the Hooper family, formed the farming backbone of Imber. She meets up with Sir Harry in the ruins of her old home at Seagrams Farm and talks about the events of 1943, how everyone reacted and also talks about the annual pilgrimage.
The tiny village of Imber has been regularly used for training from before the First World War, but the Army bought it outright in 1932, except for St. Giles Church, the Baptist Chapel and the Bell Inn pub. When the American troops arrived in 1943 it was deemed a good place to train for street fighting in preparation for D-Day. The village was evacuated just before Christmas 1943. The villagers were never to live again in their homes. Once a year, on the first weekend in September, the Church at Imber is re-opened for two memorial services.
Sir Harry found that most of the original buildings of Imber have been razed to the ground. One of the few surviving buildings, the Church, is the location for the singing of The God Of Love by the Salisbury Cathedral Choir. Sir Harry sings Lead Us Heavenly Father and Keep The Home Fires Burning.
Sir Harry also meets Mrs. Sarah Jones, the widow of Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Jones, known affectionately as “H’, who died in the Falklands while leading 2 Para in the attack on Goose Green. She and her husband spent two years stationed in Warminster. Mrs. Jones now spends a lot of her time working for the Falklands Family Association, formed in 1983 after the Government arranged a trip to the Falklands for widows and families. She speaks of the importance of going to the actual location, and of the support she has had from the Army and the public at large. A painting of Lt. Col. Jones, just before he fell, now hangs in the mess dining room at the School of Infantry, Warminster.
The Warminster area is steeped in military tradition, with a close relationship between the soldiers stationed at the School of Infantry and at Battlesbury Barracks with local people – many soldiers have married local girls. Colour Sergeant Danny Malone, who has just returned to Warminster Barracks, with the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rangers, met and married a local girl, Christine, while based at the camp in 1976.
Sir Harry Secombe talks to the Reverend Kester Carruthers, the Chaplain responsible for developing the relationship with the community, and he has conducted many marriage services.
Highway will also feature actor Bernard Cribbens who did his National Service in the Parachute Regiment, and Angela Richards who sings It’s A Lovely Morning. Sir Harry also visits other places in the Warminster area, including the Anzac War Graves Cemetery at Sutton Veny where he sings Waltzing Matilda.