Poppies to Paddington - 11 Nov 24

[whole diary]

[bobm]

For the fifth year GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has staged its Poppies to Paddington event.

Wreaths from 90 stations were loaded onto ten trains, including the Night Riviera sleeper from Penzance.  At Swindon the Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire was joined by the town's two MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context), the Mayor, a representative of the TransWilts CIC^» (Community Interest Company - about) and other dignitaries to present their tributes on a service to London Paddington.



Once in London the wreaths were joined by hundreds of others from across the GWR network. 



After they had been laid out around the memorial on platform 1 at Paddington a short service around the 11am silence was held.  The usual station hubbub seemed to quieten during the silence.





More from GWR here - https://news.gwr.com/news/poppies-to-paddington-special-d-day-tribute-to-form-impressive-backdrop-for-remembrance-day-service

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posting that, bobm.

Here are some more images from that event, provided in the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) press release:

[bobm]

On a similar theme, after leaving Paddington I found a memorial in Hyde Park to animals who had played their part in conflicts around the world.   It is near Marble Arch and I was unaware of it until now.

[broadgage]

Whilst human life is arguably of greater importance, we should not forget the many animals that have given their lives in conflicts.

[Chris from Nailsea]

No, indeed.  Many horses, and dogs, were used as 'beasts of burden', and often suffered injuries and death. 

[bobm]

And don’t forget Gustav the pigeon.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_(pigeon)

[broadgage]

No, indeed.  Many horses, and dogs, were used as 'beasts of burden', and often suffered injuries and death. 

Dogs in particular had the merit of being able to work without a human handler. Dogs were used to carry rations and ammunition to the front line.
In the first war, dogs were used to run telegraph cables between trenches. The dog wore a harness with a roll of insulated wire that unrolled as the animal ran along. By the second war, radio had largely displaced telegraphs.

Dogs have been used  by Ukrainian forces in the present war, to convey rations and messages to forward positions. Cats have fed not only themselves but also the owners by killing rabbits. Cats have allegedly been used to retrieve shot birds, as is more commonly done by dogs.