World War 2 Collection (#2)

Standing down parade of 13th Battalion Home Guard, Swindon Works, 1944
By the end of 1944 the threat of invasion from Germany became unlikely and it was decided that the Home Guard could be stood down

Wartime shells being packed up in 24F shop, ready for transportation in 1942
By 1943 the majority of Allied munitions production was undertaken by America and Canada. This eased the pressure on British workshops as there had become a serious shortage of materials

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

2 PDR gun mounting, 1943
A side view of a 2-pounder pom-pom gun mounting built for the Admiralty at Swindon Works. This image was taken in the AM Shop in February 1943 and shows the ammunition positioned in the side trays

Welding Containers for Bombs, K Shop, 1940
Some rather intricate hot work is taking place in this photograph taken in K Shop, the Coppersmiths, in November 1940. The men are welding exploder containers for 250lb bombs that were ordered by

Midget Submarine superstructure, 1943
Also built in the Carriage and Wagon Works at Swindon were 50 of these midget submarine superstructures which were produced for the Admiralty

Anti-Aircraft Gun, Swindon Works, 1940s
This anti-aircraft 6-pounder navel gun was manufactured for the Admiralty in W Shop at Swindon Works during World War II. It comes with a mounting that would have allowed it to be fixed to

0-6-0 tender locomotive Dean Goods No. 2430 in wartime livery, c. 1939
0-6-0 tender locomotive Dean Goods No.2430 is pictured here in its wartime livery. The tender is painted with the WD for War Department and the engine bears its War Department number, 177

GWR Salvage Corps leaflet, 1940
During the war the GWR were committed to salvaging paper and other material. In August 1940 General Manager, James Milne, invited employees to join the GWR Salvage Corp

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

Locomotive driver in air raid kit, during WWII
Locomotive no. 5085 Evesham Abbey with a locomotive driver on the footplate wearing a gas mask during WWII

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 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

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