Photo by GWR used by permission
Poppies to Paddington The annual Remembrance Service at Paddington Station is a major event, each year attracting several hundred people. In recent years, as the Paddington based Railway Mission Chaplain, I have had the privilege of leading this service. In the midst of the pandemic, I did not expect the event to be held in 2020, until, that is, Paul Gentleman, Project Communications Manager for GWR contacted me, explaining the plan for a special GWR network wide Remembrance event ‘Poppies to Paddington’. The event, which attracted nationwide media coverage, involved nine early morning Paddington
John Roe, our chaplain for Paddington and GWR, recalls a special event… bound scheduled services on Remembrance Day from the length and breadth of the GWR network. GWR and the Veterans Charity coordinated the placing of wreaths on board these services, from over 60 stations. Local authorities and military bases also took part in the operation and 226 wreaths were taken to London. On arrival at Paddington, they were placed at the station’s iconic war memorial on platform 1, for the Remembrance Day service. Standing alongside a sea of poppy wreaths, it was a truly honouring and moving experience to once more to lead Paddington’s Act of Remembrance, an event that was live-streamed for the benefit of railway staff and friends across the railway network.
10
