Once a thriving settlement filled with farms, a pub, a chapel, and over 200 residents whose families had tilled the land for generations, the village of Epynt fell silent within months. This close-knit Welsh-speaking community, nestled in mid Wales just 90 minutes from Gloucestershire, vanished almost overnight, leaving behind empty properties and barren fields.
In September 1939, as World War II erupted, an Army officer arrived to assess the isolated area. By Christmas, every farm—many bearing names difficult even for the officer to pronounce—had received eviction notices. Residents were given until April 1940 to leave their ancestral homes.
The Ministry of Defence had earmarked 30,000 acres of this land as a vital military training ground. The War Office, desperate for space amid the bombing raids sweeping Europe, insisted the locals relocate, promising compensation for the upheaval. Despite heartfelt pleas in early 1940, London dismissed their appeals. The 54 farming families were forced to disperse, many relocating far from the region as options nearby were scarce.
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Most believed their displacement was temporary, hopeful they’d return after the war. Yet, today, the Ministry still controls this area—now known as the Sennybridge Training Area—used extensively by British forces for live-fire exercises.
Almost all original buildings were demolished, with only the Drovers Arms Inn and weathered headstones in the village graveyard bearing witness to a community erased eight decades ago. While satellite images show a network of lanes, many remain inaccessible, obscured from public view.
In early 1940, life momentarily clung on: St David’s Day celebrations were held at Capel y Babell chapel, and residents like Thomas Morgan made secret visits to safeguard their homes, lighting fires to protect masonry from the elements. But their hope was extinguished when soldiers informed Morgan his farmhouse had been demolished.
Descendants recount poignant stories: Bethan Price recalls her great-grandmother leaving a key in the front door, symbolizing hope for return, while others took poignant mementos like entire doors. By June 1940, schools and chapels closed, hedgerows were uprooted, and on July 1, heavy artillery shelling began, erasing the landscape and livelihoods.
One resident, Elwyn Davies, remembered his grandmother’s forced relocation to Carmarthenshire. “It was a very sombre time,” he said. “Just a week after she left, they flattened everything.”
Photographer Iowerth Paete recorded scenes of families driven from their homes—horses pulling carts filled with possessions, an elderly woman weeping outside her abandoned house.
Today, Ben Lake MP, whose grandmother was the last infant born in Epynt, reflects on a forgotten chapter in Welsh history. Although the eviction caused deep anger, wartime unity meant opposing it was often seen as undermining the fight against Hitler. Consequently, Epynt’s story has not gained the recognition of other displacements like the flooding of Capel Celyn.
Now, the Epynt Way offers walking trails through the area, where wildlife like red kites soar and sheep roam freely amid ongoing military exercises. Visitors to the Epynt Way centre can learn about the landscape but are cautioned to avoid military debris for their safety.
Epynt remains a poignant reminder of sacrifice and loss—its fading gravestones and empty lanes silently bearing testimony to a community forever uprooted.