Women Gallery

Quick Lunch and Snack Bar at Paddington Station, 1936

An interior view of Paddington station showing a busy snack bar, which probably opened soon after the modernisation of the station in the 1930s. The GWR roundel logo adorns the top of the doorway while a number of stylishly dressed passengers are sitting around the bar on stools enjoying a range of food and drink

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Soldiers and Sailors Buffet at Paddington Station, 1919

A shot capturing the last servicemen to be offered refreshments at the Soldiers and Sailors Free Buffet at Paddington Station on 28th June 1919. The forces canteen opened in April 1915 to offer sustenance to the servicemen who passed through Paddington during the war years. It was staffed day and night by a dedicated group of more than 80 female volunteers who, during the four years that the Buffet was open, served refreshments to more than 3 million men. The soldier sitting in the corner seat was himself a Great Western man, possibly on his journey home from active duty

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Women workers in the Permanent Way Dept at Reading, 1943

Three ladies from the Permanent Way Department are pictured here at Reading in April 1943 off-loading wooden blocks from a wagon. This photograph is an official Company image, with GWR Chief Engineers Office, Aldermaston. Photographic Department stamped on the reverse. The photo may have been taken to show the work of women during the war, but equally it might have been taken to show joint working between the GWR and LMS whose wagon features in the image. Inter-railway working between the railway companies was actively encouraged by the Government during the war as a means of maintaining an efficient and economic rail service, so staff and rolling stock worked across the different networks in a way that had not been seen previously