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Mogul locomotive No. 8314 with bomb damage in 1941

A 4300 Mogul locomotive, No. 8314, lies amongst the debris following an air raid in Weymouth on 17th January 1941. Star Class locomotive, Princess Charlotte, can be seen to the right of the photograph and has escaped the worst of the damage. The south coast of Britain was easy prey for the German Luftwaffe based in Northern France, and the ports of Weymouth and Portland were prime targets for bombers due to their naval connections.

SS St Julien at the Banana Dock in Dieppe c.1939

SS St Julien is pictured here at the Banana Dock in Dieppe during her service as a hospital ship. St Julien was built in 1925 as a vessel to serve the GWR's Weymouth route, which she did until requisitioned by the government on the 9th September 1939 to work as a troop ship. During the following month the steamer was sent to Southampton to be converted into Hospital Ship No. 29 and she began work ferrying casualties from France back to Britain, from where they would be taken by train to hospitals around the country. St Julien took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk, crossing the channel 6 times in an attempt to reach troops, where, despite being clearly identified as a hospital ship, she came under enemy fire. She survived Dunkirk and subsequent service as a hospital ship in the Mediterranean, and at the end of the war SS St Julien returned to operation on the Weymouth Service.

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Swindon Town Station

Swindon Town Station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in Swindon's Old Town area. The impressive main offices of the railway company can be seen in the centre of this image. The station was in operation for only 85 years after facing increasing competition from the town's GWR station and as the focus of the town moved away from the Old Town area to Swindon's ænew town' which had developed around the GWR station and railway works.