Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Great Western Railway - Roll of Honour


Phil Wood

Recommended Posts

Apologies if this has been covered before, but a quick search did not show it.

After the war the Great Western Railway printed a large Roll of Honour to commemorate 2,524 of their employees who died as a result of war service.

This was distributed to many stations - I have no idea how many (anyone know?).

Several examples still exist, as do a number of more recent reproductions - a bit of googling show that there are examples at the following stations:

Birmingham Moor Street (repro?)

Cardiff (repro)

Chester

Exeter

Leamington Spa (repro)

Taunton

Two more can be found at:

National Railway Museum (I'm a bit confused about this one as they state that it came from Exeter - yet Exeter still has one according the IWM inventory)

Didcot Railway Centre

These were all easy to find out about - so I wondered if there were any more examples out there?

EDIT - ADDITIONS

Bristol Temple Meads

Dean Forest Railway/ GWR Museum

Newton Abbott station

Rosslare station

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks - I have now found a photo on wikimedia. I will add Newton Abbotts to the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

There's one at Bristol Temple Meads, there may also be one in the shopping village which is housed in the old engine works at Swindon

Michelle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's one in the Dean Forest Railway/ GWR Museum at Norchard. However, it wasn't originally at Norchard, as it came from somewhere else, I think Severn Tunnel Junction.

This is an extract from the War Memorials Trust record of the one at Leamington Spa Station:

"The war memorial in Leamington Spa station to the men of the Great Western Railway who fell in World War I is an exact replica of the rolls of honour that were placed at major GWR stations after 1918. It is approximately 175cm wide by 127cm high and has a beech hardwood surround and a central metal plaque with names inscribed in four columns and the dedication on a fifth. The names are depicted as if on a scroll opening on a horizontal axis, and the columns are divided by inscriptions of highly decorated down-pointing swords, the outer two of which have laurel wreaths hanging from the hilt. The name of the Great Western Railway is on a smaller scroll in the central column, between two laurel branches. The whole memorial is in a medieval-revival style. The memorial is on platform 2, on the wall next to the waiting room.

In August 2005 War Memorials Trust gave £200 towards the commissioning of this replica memorial frame. The memorial was unveiled and dedicated on Friday 11th November 2005 in front of a congregation of nearly 100 people. The service was conducted by Revd. Kirkwood, chaplain to Chiltern Railways and the Railway Mission, and assisted by Revds David Lawson and Christopher Wilson from churches in Leamington Spa.

It is thought that the original memorial may have been removed when Leamington Spa station was rebuilt in the late 1930s. Original examples of Great Western Railway rolls of honour can still be found at Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot and Chester stations."

If there's one at Cardiff, I don't know where it is. It's certainly not on display in the concourse or the platforms of Central Station, and none of the other stations in Cardiff would be big enough to warrant such a memorial. Central Station does have three small memorials to specific Departments, although I can't remember at the moment what they are. They're just inside the entrance next to the taxi rank, adjacent to the Spar shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there's one at Cardiff, I don't know where it is.

Sorry - my mistake, the Cardiff one is for the Taff Vale Railway - and it may not be on display yet - TVR-War-Memorial-AJS_1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...
On 23/01/2015 at 13:32, Phil Wood said:

Apologies if this has been covered before, but a quick search did not show it.

After the war the Great Western Railway printed a large Roll of Honour to commemorate 2,524 of their employees who died as a result of war service.

This was distributed to many stations - I have no idea how many (anyone know?).

Several examples still exist, as do a number of more recent reproductions - a bit of googling show that there are examples at the following stations:

.........

Rosslare station

 

I wonder if this is correct. If there is a copy in Rosslare I never saw it.  Also, which Rosslare? Formerly there were three - Strand, Mainland, and Pier. The latter two are now replaced by Rosslare Europort. In any case, I strongly suspect that this is an error for Fishguard, where I believe there was a copy.

Edited by Wexflyer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's one in the Severn Valley Railway's museum at Kidderminster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎26‎/‎01‎/‎2015 at 07:18, The Scorer said:

Thanks, that looks magnificent.

It's not on display yet, so I wonder where they're going to put it - it looks massive!

 

On ‎25‎/‎01‎/‎2015 at 21:06, Phil Wood said:

Sorry - my mistake, the Cardiff one is for the Taff Vale Railway - and it may not be on display yet - TVR-War-Memorial-AJS_1.jpg

 

On ‎26‎/‎01‎/‎2015 at 07:18, The Scorer said:

Thanks, that looks magnificent.

It's not on display yet, so I wonder where they're going to put it - it looks massive!

 

Just to update this, it is on display at Cardiff Queen Street now - in fact, it's been there for a couple of years.

 

It's inside the ticket gates at the main entrance; turn right to go up the stairs to the new platform five (?) and it's on the wall on your right - you really can't miss it! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...