Second World War Collection (page 2)

Matilda II tanks under construction at Swindon Work in 1941
In September 1941, three Matilda II tanks were photographed leaving AE shop on Rectank wagons. The tanks are incomplete and are presumably ready to be transported elsewhere for final assembly

Shell production for World War 2 in 24F shop at Swindon Works, 1942
An image of the shell production line in 24F Shop showing view of the workshop space for shell inspection during World War 2

Scammel being loaded with Anderson Air Raid Shelter, West London, 1939
Westbourne Park Yard in April 1939 is the focus of this interesting pre-war image. Parts of Anderson shelters are being unloaded from a line of wagons onto a 3 ton Scammell tractor by a Ransome

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

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

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

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

Goods Yard, Cardiff Docks, 1943
The Goods Yard at Cardiff Docks in September 1943 is the subject of this image. It features a group of three women unloading boxes from an open railway wagon

Female Dining Car Attendant, about 1940
During the Second World War women took over roles normally assigned to men. This image shows a female GWR dining car attendant serving tea to three passengers

Female Stationmaster, June 1941
This image features a young lady called Freda Jones. During the Second World War she was made a GWR Stationmaster at Pontdolgoch, a station in mid Wales on the Welshpool to Aberystwyth line

Female wartime workers, 1943
This line up of women at Paddington Station shows the varied jobs female GWR employees undertook during the Second World War

Damaged railway lamps, 1942
These rather forlorn looking lamps appeared in an article from the April 1942 edition of the GWR Magazine. The article looks at the daily toll of damaged and lost locomotive equipment

Coach No. 5189 in the Carriage Body Shop, 1946
Great Western coach No. 5189 is featured in this photograph undergoing refurbishment in the Carriage Body Shop at Swindon Works in the summer of 1946

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

Australian officers and sailors on a visit to Swindon Works, 1945
Officers and sailors from H.M.A.S Australia on a visit to Swindon Works on July 13th 1945 whilst their ship was docked at Plymouth awaiting repairs

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

World War 2 booklet It Can Now Be Revealed, published 1945
Throughout the war the British Railways Press Office issued a series of booklets that outlined the official story of the railways at war

The Goods Yard at Cardiff Docks in 1943
The Goods Yard at Cardiff Docks in September 1943 is the subject of this image featuring a group of ladies stacking boxes that have probably just been off-loaded from a goods train

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

Women employee in the Road Motor Department at Slough, 1944
The Road Motor Department at Slough was another area that saw the employment of women in traditionally male roles. This photograph was taken on April 18th 1944

Swindon Works employees welding superheaters for locomotive boilers, 1942
A group of female employees are welding the superheaters for locomotive boilers in P1 Shop. As rail operation was essential to the war effort

Swindon Works employees manouvering a wheel set by crane, c. 1940
In this photograph a female crane operator is working alongside two male colleagues, manoeuvring a locomotive wheel set into place

Presentation of a War Savings League Cup to members at Swindon Works, 1944
This photograph was taken on 20th April 1944 and shows Chief Mechanical Engineer, F.W. Hawksworth, presenting a War Savings League Cup to members at Swindon Works

US soldiers embarking a ship in a GWR South Wales Dock, 1942
The GWR docks in South Wales became busy points for the arrival and departure of US troops from mid 1942 when the first American ship to arrive at the Companys docks berthed at Swansea on the 18th

American Flag flying from Paddington Station hotel on July 4th 1941
This image shows the American Flag flying from the front of the hotel at Paddington Station on July 4th, American Independence Day, 1941

Brake Third coach No. 3307 converted into a mobile cleansing unit, 1941
The fear of gas attack was of paramount concern during World War II, as demonstrated by the mass issuing of gas masks prior to the outbreak of war in 1939

Military tanks loaded onto Crocodile G wagons, c. 1939
A train load of military tanks, loaded onto Crocodile G wagons, make their way through Acton, en-route to the Channel Ports, for shipment over seas

Chevrolet Thornton military trucks lined up at Caerphilly Works, 1941
This image taken in April 1941 shows five Chevrolet Thornton military trucks lined up outside the GWRs works at Caerphilly. These trucks were imported from the USA and arrived unassembled in crates

Tanks being loaded onto Rectank flat wagons, c. 1940
Three tanks are being loaded onto Rectank flat wagons which were designed and built specifically for the movement of military vehicles by rail

Railway carriage converted to an ambulance ward car, c1939
This internal view of an ambulance ward car gives a clear image of both the ingenuity used in converting rolling stock for medical use, but also the cramped conditions endured within these vehicles

A corridor brake composite carriage converted into a rail mobile emergency canteen, 1941
In November 1941 this 56 feet corridor brake composite carriage was converted at Swindon Works into a rail mobile emergency canteen

Siphon G Wagon converted to ward car No. 3209 in 1943
By the spring of 1940 Britains railway companies had supplied 25 ambulance trains for use both at home and abroad. In September 1942 the government ordered a further 27 ambulance trains

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A paper recycling cart outside the General Stores at Swindon Works, 1941
A paper recycling cart outside the General Stores at Swindon Works in 1941. Bound bundles of paperwork and ledgers can be seen piled on the cart ready to be taken away to be pulped

Bomb damage to the GWRs salvage warehouse in London, 1940
In a cruel twist of fate, this image from the 15th November 1940 shows bomb damage to the GWRs salvage warehouse at Park Royal in north-west London

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

The 13th Battalion Home Guard at a rifle shoot at Liddington, c. 1942
The 13th Battalion Home Guard at a rifle shoot on the chalk ridge at Liddington, near Swindon. The Home Guard evolved to be a well-equipped trained army and would partake in numerous drills

Swindon Home Guard manning an anti-aircraft gun platform, c. 1940
Swindon Works was considered a prime target for aircraft strikes during World War II. Here, two members of the Home Guard are manning an anti-aircraft gun platform situated on the roof of uniform

GWRs Home Guard battalions on parade at Castle Bar Park in London, c. 1940
The Home Guard was originally known as the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). The LDV was formed in May 1940, but in August 1940 the LDV changed its name to the Home Guard

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

Presentation of the Wiltshire Home Guard in 1944
This photograph shows the presentation of an award to Home Guard member Mr C Wheeler in April 1944. He was a member of the 13th Battalion of the Wiltshire Home Guard which was formed in 1943 to

Saint Class locomotive, 2947 Madresfield Court with gun fire damage, c. 1940
This photograph of Saint Class locomotive, Madresfield Court, shows damage to the cab after it came under aircraft machine gun fire at Yarnbrook, near Westbury

Air raid damage to the gas holder at Swindon Works, 1942
Swindon Works following the air raid on 27th July 1942. The gas holder at the gas works is pock-marked by machine gun fire from a lone aircraft that had swooped over the town early in the morning

GWR fire brigade at Paddington Station taking part in a drill, c. 1940
This image shows members of the GWR fire brigade at Paddington Station taking part in a drill. Training was an important part of fire fighting and kept employees prepared in case of an emergency

Air raid shelter at West Ealing Goods Yard, 1940
A rather intriguing photo here of West Ealing Goods Yard, taken in 1940. The strange molehill shaped mounds dotted along the track are air raid shelters

Anti-aircraft platform at Swindon Station c. 1940
An anti-aircraft platform can be seen in this image of Swindon Station, but what is most intriguing is the very small Swindon Junction sign hanging in the centre of the platform canopy

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

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