The Troubles, and several empty house-like buildings were constructed in the 1970s to aid training. Since 1988, urban warfare training has been centred at a purpose-built complex at Copehill Down, about 3 miles to the southeast. The Bell Inn was sold to the MoD in the mid-1950s and the Baptist Chapel in the late 1970s. The civil parish of Imber was eventually incorporated into neighbouring Heytesbury, to the south, while for Church of England purposes the ecclesiastical parish of Imber was incorporated into the parish of Edington, to the north. Restoration attempts Many of the village's buildings suffered shell and explosion damage after the war when UK military operations began and were additionally eroded by the weather, quickly falling into disrepair. Although the villagers had been told they could return in six months, this was never allowed. At the end of the war, efforts were made to restore Imber to its pre-war conditionalthough there was very little damagebut the decision was taken not to relinquish control. Documentary evidence of a return agreement was only discovered in the 1970s. In 1961, a rally in the village was organised to demand that the villagers be allowed to move back and over 2,000 people attended, including many former residents. A public inquiry was held and found in favour of Imber's continued military use. The matter was also raised in the House of Lords and it was decided that the church would be maintained and would be open for worship on the Saturday closest to St Giles' Day each year, a practice that continues. A further attempt to restore Imber took place in the early 1970s, when the Defence Lands Committee (DLC) was given the task of looking into the need for the retention of |Ministry of Defence lands. The Imber case was represented before the DLC by David J. Johnson, an Imber researcher; Richard Madigan, a former soldier who helped to evacuate the villageand testified to the promise of return after the warand Rex Mutters, a wartime fighter pilot. They were assisted by Austin Underwood, who had led the campaign in the early 1960s, and backed-up with written evidence from former villagers. In spite of all the additional evidence, including the first re-appearance since 1943 of the original eviction letter (which indicated return), the DLC recommended that the village be retained for military use. Present day The annual church service, on the Saturday