Front L-R Dave Williams and Ian Harris, at the back are L-R Sandy Gilbert and Malcolm Blank.
Marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, First Great Western’s (FGW) fleet of High Speed Trains will carry a special poppy vinyl to commemorate the fallen.
100 of FGW’s 119 power cars, the 2,250 horse power diesel engines that drive the train, will be wearing their poppy with pride on Armistice Day.
FGW’s Plymouth Station Manager Mark Chorley said:
“We chose to put the poppy on 100 trains, to mark the 100 years since the outbreak of WW1. The railways played such an important part in the First World War, transporting both supplies and soldiers around the country.
“It is important that we remember the sacrifice made and, with our High Speed Trains covering as many as 1,200 miles a day over 10 counties, we continue to honour the fallen.
"It is also an opportunity to honour the work done by the Royal British Legion who do so much to support servicemen and women and their families. They do a fantastic job and I hope that having a poppy on the train will encourage more donations to their campaign.”
The vinyl panels were fitted to 100 of First Great Western’s High Speed Trains at Laira Depot in Plymouth, Long Rock in Penzance, St Philips Marsh in Bristol; Landore in Swansea and Old Oak Common in London.
First Great Western are corporate partners of the Royal British Legion.
Notes to editors
First Great Western provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services, carrying more than 99 million passengers every year across the Great Western rail franchise area, which includes South Wales, the Westcountry, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.7 billion a year. We employ approximately 117,000 employees and transport around 2.5 billion passengers a year.
Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.