The Queen joins 'Poppies to Paddington' initiative on Armistice Day

The Queen laid a wreath of poppies at the War Memorial at Platform 1 of London Paddington train station before meeting The Military Wives Choir, as well as reservists and veterans from recent conflicts working in the railway industry. 

'Poppies to Paddington' began during the November 2020 lockdown and has since become a key annual event across the Great Western Railway (GWR) network to honour those lost in past and present conflicts.

In partnership with The Veterans Charity, wreaths are placed on early-morning train services from over 60 stations, arriving at London Paddington for the Remembrance Service. Last year, more than 200 wreaths were laid at the War Memorial.

At Chippenham train station, Her Majesty met members of the Wiltshire community with their wreaths before boarding the ‘Odette Hallowes GC MBE’ train, named after the Second World War hero of the Special Operations Executive, to London Paddington.

Arriving at Paddington, The Queen walked to the War Memorial before the Act of Remembrance commenced.

The Call to Remembrance was read before The Last Post was played and two minutes’ silence observed at 1100hrs. The Reveille sounded, and The Military Wives Choir performed the song ‘Poppy Red’. Her Majesty then laid a wreath in front of the Memorial.

Once the service concluded, The Queen met the Director of the Military Wives Choir, the Railway Chaplain, and a small group of reservists and veterans from recent conflicts working in the railway industry.

Her Majesty was shown a special liveried train on Platform 1 featuring the names of all 2,545 men who worked for GWR and died during The Great War. The train is named after two of those men, Allan Leonard Lewis VC and Harold Day DSC. The Roll of Honour features details of where the men worked for the company, their rank, regiment, age, and where they are either remembered or buried.

This year’s ceremony marked 80 years since the end of World War II and commemorated the role of the Railway in conflict over the past 200 years - from its first military use in the Crimean War to Sir Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransport in 1939 to the support given to veterans and reservists working in the industry today.