War Collection

A man and woman carrying out work on a steam hammer during WW2, 1942
A man and woman carrying out work on a steam hammer during WW2 in the GWR Swindon Works, 1942. The man is wearing a blacksmiths apron

Swindon Works War Work, 22nd January 1942
Female worker machining a 25 PDR shell on 22 January 1942. Munitions work issued by Ministry of Supply

Evacuees at Paddington Station in 1939
This moving image of evacuees making their way along platform 4 at Paddington Station was also taken during the 4 day evacuation of London and other major cities in September 1939

Child evacuees on Maidenhead station, 1939
An image of a group of child evacuees from the East End of London on Maidenhead station in Berkshire in 1939

Mess room of No. 16 Ambulance train, March 1915
No.16 Ambulance train was built at Swindon Works in 1915 and was paid for by the United Kingdom Flour Millers Association. It was equipped with patient beds, a pharmacy and treatment rooms

8in. howitzer gun carriage on an Open B wagon at Swindon Works, c. 1914
This 8in. howitzer gun carriage was one of the first batch to be made at Swindon Works. It sits on an unfinished OPEN B wagon awaiting dispatch

Evacuees waiting outside the departure platform at Paddington in 1939
One of the very first war time roles that the GWR was engaged in was the evacuation of children from cities to the relative safety of the countryside

SS Africa at Tilbury Docks, September 1915
A British cargo ship used to transport GWR built ambulance carriages to France during WW1. It was sunk on 16th September 1915 by a German mine off the coast of Kent

GWR staff loading a stretcher into a parcel van which has been converted into an ambulance, 1940. The van bears the GWR roundel branding and a stylised poster on the side

No. 16 Ambulance train at Rushy Platt, Swindon 1915
No.16 Ambulance train was built at Swindon Works in 1915 and was paid for by the United Kingdom Flour Millers Association. It was equipped with patient beds, a pharmacy and treatment rooms

Evacuees waiting to leave Paddington Station, 1939
This image shows eight young boys and girls about to leave London as evacuees to the countryside. Although the images shows them laughing it must have been a daunting experience for them

Women war workers making ammunition shells in 24F Shop, 1943
These women have been tasked with the pressing on of copper bands and insertion of base plates for 25-pounder quick firing, high explosive, streamline shells

Macaw B railway wagon No. 84350 loaded with gun carriages at Swindon Works, c. 1915
Macaw B railway wagon No. 84350 has been photographed here loaded with 2 gun carriages awaiting dispatch from Swindon Works

Motor landing craft under construction, 1942
In August 1941 the GWR began building the first of a large number of motor landing craft in the Carriage and Wagon shops at Swindon. No

250lb Bombs at the Swindon Works, early 1940s
An image of some completed 250lb bombs being loaded onto GWR open wagon No. 44 in December 1940. Like with the majority of the war work undertaken at the Works specialist equipment was built to cater

Female rivet hotter, A Shop, c. 1940
During the Second World War Swindon Works employed women in both the workshops and offices. Here a female employee is helping her male colleague with riveting

Paddington Station, c1940
A group of nurses wave off a train load of evacuees during World War 2. The mass evacuation of children from cities and towns, known as Operation Pied Piper, began in 1939

Shunt with Great Care Label
This is an example of a shunt with great care label that warned goods staff in the 1940s that some of the goods travelling on the GWR were fragile or dangerous!

Pharmacy car of No. 16 Ambulance train, March 1915
No.16 Ambulance train was built at Swindon Works in 1915 and was paid for by the United Kingdom Flour Millers Association. It was equipped with patient beds, a pharmacy and treatment rooms

Wartime recruiting posters at Paddington Station, 1915
Recruiting posters were a popular way of encouraging men to enlist. Millions of posters were produced and displayed up and down the country during the war

6in. naval guns on display on Macaw B wagons at Swindon Works c. 1915
6in. naval guns on display on Macaw B wagons at Swindon Works. The guns were sent in from elsewhere, but the manufacture of 40 large field carriages upon which the guns were mounted was a specialist

Naval guns outside A Shop, Swindon Works c. 1915
Four 6in. naval guns are proudly displayed on the tracks outside of A Shop, with County Tank, No. 2232, in steam, just behind. The guns are mounted on carriages with limbers attached

No 18 Stamping Shop at Swindon Works in 1915
A view of No. 18 Stamping Shop from March 1915, showing the reverse of a stationary boiler. At the bottom left of the image are sheets of metal ready to be heated in the gas furnaces just above

Nordenfelt anti-aircraft gun in V Shop, Swindon Works c. 1915
This striking image shows a newly made 6 pdr Nordenfelt anti-aircraft gun complete with mounting platform and protective skirting

Carriage and Wagon Stamping (No. 18) Shop in 1915
This image of the Carriage and Wagon Stamping (No.18) Shop was taken in March 1915. Although no men are in shot, it shows the busy, dirty and hot nature of this workshop

Swindon Works Polishing Shop in 1914
A photograph taken on 7th August 1914 of the Polishing Shop in the Carriage and Wagon Works. French polishing was a skilled trade

Phoenix Tower, Chester, Cheshire, 1924
A GWR Publicity view of Phoenix Tower along the Chester City Wall, Cheshire in 1924. The tower is also known as King Charles Tower due to a story that says that in 1645 at the Siege of Chester

No 9 Shop, Sewing Room, August 1914
The date of this photograph is 7th August 1914. Just three days after Britain entered the war. By this date there were already women employed at Swindon Works

War memorial at Paddington Station in 1949
This full length image of the newly rededicated war memorial at Paddington appeared in the December 1949 edition of the, by this time, British Railways magazine

Unveiling of the World War 2 memorial at Paddington Station, 1949
On the 11th November 1949 the war memorial at Paddington which was erected following the First World War, was again the focus of a moving ceremony when a new plaque was unveiled by former GWR General

War time work in Q Shop at Swindon Works, 1942
This image was taken in March 1942 and shows four women operating a large pressing machine in Q Shop. The women are making 4.5inch copper bands for ammunition shells

No. 24F shop, Swindon Works, undergoing war time alterations in 1941
This image, taken in September 1941, shows the alterations taking place in 24F Shop to accommodate the new shell production for the Ministry of Supply

Production line for wartime shells in No. 24 Shop, Swindon Works, 1942
No.24 Shop, on the Carriage and Wagon side of Swindon Works was fitted out with two production lines for 25-pounder shells

Sandbag protection at Birmingham Snow Hill Station
Railway stations were on high alert during the war years. The principal stations on the GWR network were used by hundreds of people each day

Staff at Gloucester Station 1944
A group of station staff are photographed in front of a locomotive at Gloucester Station in 1944. Women held roles at railway stations during the war that were, until then, male occupations

Leatherwork for howitzers and 8 pdr guns, made at Swindon Works, c. 1915
This array of items shows the type of leatherwork that was undertaken at Swindon Works for both howitzers and 8 pdr guns, as requested by the Royal Arsenal

Female permanent way workers, c1940
During the Second World War women were employed in various different roles within the GWR. The women here fixing track chairs to wooden sleepers as part of their role within the permanent way

Women workers at the Road Motor Department, Slough, March 1944
During the Second World War women were given jobs normally assigned to men. At the GWR Road Motor Depot at Slough this involved car maintenance and repair

Servicemen drinking tea from a refreshment trolley on Paddington station, during WWII
A member of Refreshment Department staff serving tea to servicemen from her platform trolley at Paddington Station is the feature of this official photograph taken in 1943

Mobile emergency canteen at Paddington Station, during WWII
Paddington station in 1943 and a shot of the mobile emergency canteen, which was used to feed station staff, APR wardens, firemen

Woman using steam press at Swindon Works, 1942
Although women were employed on the railways prior to 1939, work involving the operating of heavy machinery, as shown in this photograph, was considered to be unsuitable for the fairer sex

GWR parcel van converted into an ambulance, 1940. The driver and another man in uniform are wearing gas masks. The van bears the GWR roundel branding

Woman pasting a billboard poster at Paddington station, 1943
Woman up a ladder pasting a billboard poster at Paddington station, 1943. The poster reads Remembrance Day FM Earl Haigs Appeal. Wear a Flanders Poppy. A locomotive in steam is in the background

Female worker servicing a Thorncroft lorry at Slough Road Motor Department, 1944
During the Second World War women were given jobs normally assigned to men. At the GWR Road Motor Depot at Slough this involved car and lorry maintenance and repair

American troops boarding a train at Swansea Docks, October 1943
The soldiers had just disembarked from the SS Santa Rosa and were boarding the train to take them to their British military base during World War II

Shunter in the wartime blackout, c. 1940
Blackouts were challenging times for some GWR employees, as this image of a shunter taken at Bristol shows. Limited lighting during an air raid posed a serious health and safety risk

Swindon Works War Work, 23rd January 1942
Female workers sorting 25 PDR shells. Work issued by the Ministry of Supply

Toad Brake Van, c1940
This 16 Ton boods brake van was built in 1889 to diagram a3. The guard can be seen in the rear of the van controlling the brake wheel

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