Friday 21 July 2017
Saturday 1 July 2017
Derby - Midland Railway Memorial
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| Midland Railway Crest Derby Midland Station |
In the First World War 2,833 employees of the Midland Railway lost their lives serving in the Armed Forces. They are commemorated on the Midland Railway Memorial in Derby.
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| Midland Railway Memorial Derby |
The Midland Railway (MR) was formed in 1844 through the merger of 3 local rail companies (North Midland Railway, Midland Counties Railway, and Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway). One year later it expanded into Leicester, Sheffield and Rotherham. In the same year the company took over the Bristol and Birmingham Railway. Expansion north into Leeds and Bradford occurred in 1851.
The Company would establish it's headquarters in Derby. The North Midland Railway had set up railway workshops in Derby. When the Midland Railway took these over they expanded them to what was to become a major railway engineering centre manufacturing locomotives and rolling stock.
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| Derby Locomotive Works 1860 |
The Midland connected to London via the Great Northern Railway (GNR). However, passengers had to alight from a Midland Railway train at Hitchin, purchase a ticket from the GNR, and continue on one of their trains to London. Work on a Midland Railway line into London started in 1863, and St Pancras Station was opened in 1868.
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| Midland Railway St Pancras Station London 1868 |
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| Midland Railway Settle to Carlisle Line |
In 1880, the opening of Manchester Central Station allowed the MR to run directly from Manchester to London. The Belfast and Northern Counties railway was purchased in 1903, and the acquisition of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway in 1912 gave the MR commuter routes in the Capital.
The Company adopted a distinctive crimson livery for it's passenger locomotives and carriages.
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| Midland Railway Crimson Livery |
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| Midland Railway Station Derby |
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| Derby Midland Station 2017 |
By 1908 the Midland Railway owned 1,654 miles of track, and partially owned another 325 miles. The Company was the fourth largest employer in the country with nearly 67,000 employees.
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| Midland Railway Routes prior to World War One |
On the outbreak of World War One the Midland Railway began it's contribution to the war effort. Within a week of mobilisation 1,838 reservists had re-joined the Army and Navy. A further 1,462 men had been embodied into the Territorial Force.
The Midland like all other railways was taken under government control through the Railway Executive Committee which acted as an intermediary between the War Office and the railway companies. The organisation of the railways for mobilisation and war time operation had been defined in the Railway Manual (War) issued in 1911.
With Kitchener's appeal for a New Army, men from MR responded to the Call to Arms. By the 18th November 1914 a total of 7,531 Midland Railway employees had joined the Armed Forces.
In addition to those serving, 500 Railway Employees were attached to the Royal Naval Sick Berth Staff or Royal Army Medical Corps assisting on Ambulance Trains.
The Midland Railway would be very supportive of those on active service. Their jobs were protected, pension contributions paid by the Company, and the MR would ensure that dependants would be looked after.
The men form the Midland Railway were soon in action, 1,025 employees earned the Mons Star. There were casualties in both the Navy and Army. The Midland Railway recorded the names of those who had joined up in 1914 and the casualties.
The railways were vital to the movement of troops and materiel. The Midland had to restrict who could enlist in order to ensure those with essential skills were retained to run the railway. In order that those engaged on vital war work were not thought to be shirking their responsibility, special badges were issued to railway personnel to designate they were on Railway Service.
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| Midland Railway WW1 Double Headed Munitions Train Attenborough 1916 Credit © National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture |
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| Midland Railway WW1 Gun barrel bring transported - Toton Sidings Nottinghamshire December 1916 Credit © National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture |
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| Midland Railway WW1 Tank Transportation |
With the railway men away on war duties, women were employed to fill the vacant positions, including heavy labouring jobs. Prior to WW1 only 2% of the Midland Railway workforce were female, around 1,300 women. With over 22,000 men away in the Armed Forces the women provided a vital contribution to keeping the railway operating during the war.
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| Midland Railway WW1 Women shovelling coal Derby Works May 1917 Credit © National Railway Museum / Science Society Picture |
The Midland Railway also contributed to the increasing logistics required as the scale of the war escalated. To keep the supplies running, additional railways were built in the various war theatres to move the men and stores needed to maintain the front line. The Midland Railway sent seventy 0-6-0 locomotives, 6,128 railway wagons and 25 1/2 miles of track overseas during WW1.
The Midland Railway would supply 9 Ambulance Trains.
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| Midland Railway WW1 Unloading Casualties from an Ambulance Train |
The engineering capabilities and workshops of the railways were also called upon to support the war effort. The workshops would produce guns, munitions and other equipment. The Company's Workshops output included 37 gun carriages, 91 limbers, 2,600,000 shell fuzes, 1,300,000 copper driving bands for shells and the renovation of 6,500,000 18 pounder cartridge cases.
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| Midland Railway WW1 Cartridge Case Renovation |
By the end of World War One 22,941 staff of the Midland Railway had served in the armed Forces, 30.9% of the workforce. Of those who served, 2,833 had given their lives.
In commemoration of the Midland Railway,s contribution and to remember those lost, the Company recorded their names in a commemorative book. This was issued to mark the unveiling of the Company War Memorial in December 1921.
Included in the list are employees from the Hotels Department who served in the forces of other Allied nations.
The Midland Railway War Memorial was unveiled on 15th December 1921. It commemorates the 2,833 employees of the Midland Railway who were killed in World War One. The cenotaph memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwell and unveiled by Mr Charles Booth, Chairman of the Midland Railway. General Sir Herbert Lawrence, a Midland Railway director, gave the address.
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Derby Unveiling 15th December 1921 Credit © National Railway Museum / Science Society Picture |
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Derby Unveiling 15th December 1921 Credit © National Railway Museum / Science Society Picture |
The memorial is located on Midland Road, Derby, adjacent to the Midland Hotel and near Derby Midland Station.
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| Midland Hotel Derby - Midland Road to the Right |
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Midland Road Derby |
The cenotaph memorial was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens who designed the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
It is made of Portland Stone and is 10 metres (33 feet tall). |
| Midland Railway Memorial Cenotaph |
On top of the memorial is a figure of an unknown soldier, below which is the crest of the Midland Railway.
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Unknown Soldier and Midland Railway Crest |
The walls surrounding the Cenotaph bear the names of the fallen. A small step was built to allow children to step up and see the names.
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Memorial Plaque |
The inscription on the Cenotaph is inscribed:
TO THE BRAVE MEN OF THE MIDLAND RAILWAY
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR
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| Midland Railway War Memorial Cenotaph Inscription |
National Arboretum - Falklands Memorial
FALKLANDS MEMORIAL
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| Falklands Memorial National Memorial Arboretum |
On the 2nd April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, the Malvinas, to which they claimed sovereignty. The British government had an alternative viewpoint, to which the United Nations applying the principle of 'self determination' agreed.
In response a task force deployed 8,000 miles in a combined Naval, Army and Air Force Operation. After preliminary operations by Naval bombardment, Special Forces and air raids, on 21st May the main body landed at San Carlos and established a beachhead. After tenacious fighting on the land, air and sea, the Argentinians surrendered on 14th June 1982.
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| Falklands Campaign 1982 |
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| Falklands Campaign 1982 |
The Falklands Campaign cost the lives of 255 members of the British Armed Forces, 3 Falkland Islanders and 649 Argentinian Military.
British British Army - 122
Royal Navy - 87
Royal Marines - 26
Merchant Navy - 9
Royal Fleet Auxiliary - 7
Falkland Islanders - 3
Royal Air Force - 1
Total 255
Total wounded - 777
Argentines
Navy - 392 (323 in ARA Belgrano, rest most marines)
Army - 179 (11 officers, 30 sc, 138 conscripts)
Air Force - 55 (36 pilots)
Gendarmeria (border guard) - 7
Prefectura (coast guard) - 2
Total 635
Total wounded - 1068
Those members of the British Forces lost in the Falklands are commemorated on the Falklands Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum.
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| Falkland Islands Stone National Memorial Arboretum |
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| Royal Artillery Falkland Veterans Falklands Memorial National Memorial Arboretum |
ROYAL ARTILLERY
FALKLAND ISLANDS
4 Field Regiment Royal Artillery
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
T Battery 12 Air Defence Regiment
Blowpipe Troop 12 Air Defence Regiment
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| 105 mm Light Gun Falkland islands 1982 |
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| Rapier Air Defence San Carlos Falkland Islands 1982 Source: rougegunner.com |
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National Arboretum - Bastion Memorial Wall
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| Bastion Memorial Wall National Arboretum |
On the 11th of September (9/11) 2001, terrorists hijacked four airliners in the USA. Two were flown into the World Trade Centre Towers in New York, one was used to attack the Pentagon in Washington, and one crashed into the ground near Pennsylvania. The attacks were orchestrated by the terrorist organisation Al-Queda, and in response the United States launched it's War on Terror and began to attack Afghanistan from where it was believed Al-Queda was based.
The first British Troops deployed to Afghanistan in November 2001. By the end of the year the capital Kabul and the major city of Kandahar had been captured. In 2002, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established. The occupation developed into a long struggle. The first British service person was killed in November 2004. In 2006, the British Forces moved into Helmand Province and established a camp in the dessert, Camp Bastion.
British Forces would remain in Afghanistan until spring 2014 and at it's peak Camp Bastion contained over 40,000 personnel.
Camp Bastion became the location where those who were lost in Afghanistan were commemorated. Initially a small cairn recorded the names of those killed. As casualties mounted a larger cairn was constructed in 2007. A Memorial Wall was constructed in 2011.
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| Camp Bastion Memorial Wall Afghanistan |
When British Army operations ended in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion was handed over to the Afghan Security Forces and the memorial re-constructed at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The campaign had cost the lives of 453 members of the British Armed Forces.
British Casulaties in Afghanistan
Royal Artillery Casualties in Afghanistan
2006
Captain Jim Philipson
7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Captain Alex Eida
7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
L/Bdr James Dwyer
29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery
2007
L/Bdr Liam McLaughlin
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
L/Bdr Ross Clark
29 Commando Regimen, Royal Artillery
WO2 Michael Smith
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
Sgt Dave Wilkinson
19 Regiment Royal Artillery
Tpr Jack Sadler
Honourable Artillery Company
2008
Lt Aaron Lewis
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
2009
Capt Tom Sawyer
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
Bdr Craig Hopson
40 Regiment Royal Artillery
WO2 Sean Upton
5 Regiment Royal Artillery
2010
Gnr Zak Cusack
40 Regiment Royal Artillery
L/Bdr Mark Chandler
3 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Bdr Stephen Raymond Gilbert
40 Regiment Royal Artillery
Bdr Samuel Robinson
5 Regiment Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery Afghanistan
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| Multi Launch Rocket System Afghanistan |
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| 105 mm Light Gun Afghanistan |
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| Desert Hawk Afghanistan |
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| RA Soldier mentoring Afghanistan Security Forces Afghanistan |
National Arboretum - ATS Ack Ack Girls Memorial
Adjacent to the Royal Artillery Garden is the Auxiliary Territorial Service / ACK ACK memorial which remembers the service of the Ack Ack Girls in the Royal Artillery. |
| ATS Ack Ack Girls Memorial National Memorial Arboretum |
The ATS - Auxiliary Territorial Service - was formed 1st February 1938 as the woman's branch of the British Army purely as a volunteer service.
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| ATS Recruiting Exhibition Selfridges Oxford Street London (C) IWM H3759 |
The women were employed as cooks, clerks, telephonists and storekeepers. In 1940, 300 ATS deployed with the British Expeditionary Force to France. During the evacuation from Dunkirk some of the ATS telephonists were last to leave France.
As the war progressed and more manpower was required for combat arms, the roles performed by the ATS expanded. Women began to augment Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiments of the Royal Artillery. The first ATS personnel began their training in early 1940. Formed troops of ATS personnel operated technical equipment such as identification telescopes, predictors, height finders, radars, and worked on plotting tables.
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| ATS spotter with binoculars at an anti-aircraft command post (C) IWM TR 453 |
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| ATS girls using an identification telescope (C) IWM TR469 |
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| The Predictor team of ATS girls at work (C) IWM TR475 |
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| ATS girls working the Kine-Theodolite It photographs shell bursts checking the results of Predictor crews. (C) IWM TR 457 |
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| ATS girls operating the height and range finder (C) IWM TR 474 |
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| ATS working in the plotting room at an anti-aircraft gun site (C) IWM H 26576 |
In April 1941 54 ATS personnel were sent to be trained on searchlights to assess their suitability for the role. The 'Newark Experiment' was a success and in December 1941 the War Office recommended that members of the ATS could be used for operational searchlight duties.
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| ATS Searchlight Operators |
The first mixed units of the Royal Artillery began to be formed from August 1941 onwards. The first Mixed Regiment was 131 (Mixed) HAA Regiment RA. The first searchlight mixed unit was 26th (London Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment RA.
Parliament introduced the National Services Act in December 1941 which called up unmarried women between the age of 20 and 30 years old to join one of the auxiliary services. The success of the incorporation of ATS women into Artillery Units raised the question of how the newly conscripted women would be utilised. Winston Churchill, addressing Parliament, stated "I want to make it clear that a woman may be compelled to join the ATS, but only volunteers from within the ATS will be allowed to serve the guns".
Winston Churchill's daughter Mary would be one of those to volunteer, serving as an ATS Officer in Ack Ack Command.
In October 1942 the only all female Regiment was formed, 93rd (Mixed) Searchlight Regiment Royal Artillery. The Commanding Officer and Battery Commanders were male.
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| 93rd Searchlight Regiment RA Re-enactment Group |
The number of mixed HAA units would eventually number fifty one Regiments. There would be sixty seven mixed Searchlight Batteries, with a further 117 Searchlight Batteries operating with ATS support. By 1944, 76,000 women of the ATS were serving in Anti-Aircraft Command.
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| A battery of 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns firing at night. ATS Gun Site (C) IWM TR 478 |
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| Anti-Aircraft Command |
"When the barrage opens out to meet the invading hun
The Ack Ack Girls of the ATS also made the ultimate sacrifice.
On 17th April 1942 18 year old Private Nora Caveney became the first ATS Gunner to be killed on active service. She was hit by a bomb splinter whilst operating a predictor.
Serving with 505 Battery, 148 (Mixed) Regiment, Nora Caveney, from Walsden West Yorkshire, was killed when a bomb was dropped on the gun site the Battery occupied at Westwood Camp near Southampton.
Nora Caveney is buried in Netlely Military Cemetery, Hampshire.
Everybody's thoughts go out to the Girls Behind the Guns
But they are not the only girls in the frontline every night
For suddenly from out of nowhere comes a blinding light
A long accusing finger pointing upwards to the sky
To tell the guns and fighters "there the raiders lie"
They're the Girls that do a job - A far from easy one
But equally important in keeping off the hun
Unloved, unwanted - fact few people know
That when the beams are out at night the girls are down below
But if they help in some small way to keep the hun at bay
They're satisfied
And don't give two hoots what people say"
The Ack Ack Girls of the ATS also made the ultimate sacrifice.
On 17th April 1942 18 year old Private Nora Caveney became the first ATS Gunner to be killed on active service. She was hit by a bomb splinter whilst operating a predictor.
Serving with 505 Battery, 148 (Mixed) Regiment, Nora Caveney, from Walsden West Yorkshire, was killed when a bomb was dropped on the gun site the Battery occupied at Westwood Camp near Southampton.
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| Private Nora Caveney Auxiliary Territorial Service attached. Royal Artillery |
Nora Caveney is buried in Netlely Military Cemetery, Hampshire.
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