World War 2 Gallery

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. Even before war was declared, plans were drawn up for evacuation so the GWR and the other major railway companies were prepared and on standby to put these plans into action. On August 31st 1939, the day before Germany invaded Poland, the order to begin the evacuation was given. The very next day the mass movement of children began and continued until September 4th. The GWR was responsible for the majority of the children moved from North and East London and while most of the evacuation trains departed from Ealing Broadway, this image shows groups of children being off-loaded from a double decker bus outside the Departure Platform at Paddington Station during the four days of evacuation in September 1939

SS St Julien as a hospital ship, at Newport Docks, c.1940

This image shows SS St Julien at Newport Docks following her conversion into a hospital ship, as denoted by the red cross painted on the side of her hull. St Julien was one of 7 GWR ships that were requisitioned for war service in the early months of the war. The Company ships played a vital role in transporting troops, cargo and wounded soldiers across the English Channel. This was dangerous work for the ships and their crew, sailing over to occupied France, often under fire from enemy guns. The evacuation of Allied Troops from Dunkirk in 1940 was perhaps the most notable and dangerous missions carried out by these ships, as they were direct targets for Luftwaffe bombers as they sailed into French waters. Operation Dynamo, as the evacuation was known, was undertaken by a fleet of more than 800 boats and saved more than 338,000 soldiers from capture. Amazingly, no Great Western ships were lost during Operation Dynamo and the fleet continued with wartime operations on behalf of the Government

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

US 2-8-0 tender locomotive No. 1604 at Paddington Station, 1942

On December 11th 1942, for the very first time, an American built locomotive steamed into Paddington Station. Acute shortages of locomotives on the GW network due to locomotives being sent overseas caused operational problems that threatened to affect the service the Company could offer to both the government and the general public. This was alleviated in part by borrowing locomotives from other British Railway Companies and also reinstating previously withdrawn engines back into service. In 1942 however, a number of American locomotives were shipped over to Britain to assist the domestic transport network. In a ceremony held at Paddington Station on the 11th December 1942, United States 2-8-0 tender locomotive No. 1604, pictured here adorned with the British and American flags, was formally handed over to Lord Leathers, Minister of War Transport, by Colonel N.A. Ryan, Chief of Transportation for the American Army, who stated that he hoped the locomotive “will do as good work for you as British Engines have done already for us”