Poppies to Paddington

The railway family, as always, made great efforts to mark the annual Remembrance Day commemorations with events taking place across the country.

This year was also the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Falklands War, bringing more emphasis upon more recent conflicts.

Hundreds of wreaths were taken to London by train on Friday November 11, thanks to the now annual Poppies to Paddington (PtP) event created by Great Western Railway in co-ordination with The Veterans Charity.

The event was supported by Sara Jones CBE, the widow of Falklands Victoria Cross hero Lt Col H Jones, who laid a poppy wreath at Paddington’s impressive Platform 1 war memorial. She described PtP as “a fitting way to round off the 40th anniversary”, adding she found it “particularly heartwarming that people are so keen to remember those who died in the conflict after all this time”.

In June, GWR had unveiled a special Falklands 40 livery on one of its Class 255 Castle sets, as 255 represents the number of lives lost by the British Forces. Power car 43040 was chosen to mark the 40th anniversary.

Poster winner Bella Gjika with c2c Managing Director Rob Mullen.

Hundreds of poppy wreaths were delivered to London as part of the Poppies to Paddington event.