Poppies to Paddington: Special D-Day tribute to form impressive backdrop for Remembrance Day service
- Great Western Railway will commemorate role of the RNLI as hundreds of wreaths are carried to capital
- Daughter to be reunited with train named in honour of her father, D-Day hero Harry Billinge MBE
A display of 22,442 cascading poppy petals will form an impressive backdrop as Great Western Railway stages its fifth annual Poppies to Paddington operation on Armistice Day (Monday 11 November).
The petals have been recycled from wreaths collected during previous Poppies to Paddington ceremonies and will be draped from balconies either side of the iconic war memorial on Platform 1 at Paddington station.
They represent the number of service personnel under British command who died during D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in 1944.
Once again working with The Veterans Charity, Poppies to Paddington will feature 10 GWR services carrying hundreds of wreaths from communities across the network. On arrival in London, the wreaths will be laid at the war memorial ahead of a Service of Remembrance at 1045.
Among those attending the service will be Margot Billinge, daughter of D-Day veteran and Normandy Memorial Trust fundraising hero Harry Billinge MBE, who passed away in 2022.
GWR named Intercity Express Train 802006 in Harry’s honour in 2020, and Margot will travel from her home in St Austell, Cornwall, to greet the train as it arrives on Platform 1.
As well as marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Poppies to Paddington will also celebrate GWR’s special partnership with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which this year is marking 200 years of saving lives at sea.
RNLI volunteers from across the GWR network – including many former service personnel – will join the operation by placing commemorative wreaths on board early-morning services on Monday 11 November, at 90 stations along the route.
