RNLI staff and volunteers from across the South West are set to commemorate the nation’s fallen heroes as part of Great Western Railway’s (GWR) Poppies to Paddington.

The initiative, now in its fifth year and organised by GWR in partnership with The Veterans Charity, features 10 trains carrying hundreds of wreaths from RNLI communities across the network.

On arrival in London, the wreaths will be laid at Paddington station’s war memorial on platform 1 ahead of a special service of remembrance starting at 10.45 am.

Among those attending the service will be Margot Billinge, daughter of D-Day veteran and Normandy Memorial Trust fundraising hero Harry Billinge MBE, who passed away in 2022. GWR named Intercity Express Train 802006 in Harry’s honour in 2020, and Margot will travel from her home in St Austell, Cornwall, to greet the train as it arrives on Platform 1.

RNLI volunteers, including many former service personnel, will place commemorative wreaths on board the early-morning services on Monday, November 11, at 90 stations along the route.

Sleeper Train Host Joe Lorusso with Gaynor Williams RNLI volunteer and the Penlee RNLI crew. (Picture: RNLI/Phil Monckton)
Sleeper Train Host Joe Lorusso with Gaynor Williams RNLI volunteer and the Penlee RNLI crew. (Picture: RNLI/Phil Monckton) ( )

The wreaths from the South West will be accompanied by RNLI military veterans Simon Jeffery, Coxswain at Plymouth RNLI and Tony Rendle, mechanic at Penlee RNLI, who will both attend the service at Paddington. 

The Cornish sleeper train will leave Penzance on Sunday November 10 at 9.15pm picking up along the way at St Austell as 10.19pm, Bodmin Parkway at 10.35pm and Liskeard at 10.50pm. A further train will be travelling first thing on Monday morning leaving St Austell at 5.53am, Bodmin Parkway at 6.09am, Liskeard at 6.22am and Saltash at 6.37am.

RNLI chief executive, Peter Sparkes, said: “We are deeply honoured to be part of the Poppies to Paddington service this year. With so many of our lifeboat stations and inland fundraising branches located along the GWR network, it’s a fitting way for our volunteers to participate in this national Act of Remembrance alongside the Armed Forces.

“The wreaths placed onboard will represent our RNLI communities who save lives at sea, honouring those crew who have made the ultimate sacrifice over the past 200 years of the RNLI, including World War I and II.”

Simon Jeffery, RNLI Coxswain at Plymouth lifeboat station, served in the Second Royal Tank Regiment between 1997 and 2005, based in Germany. Simon was part of peace support in Kosovo and undertook two tours in the Iraq war. He will board the sleeper train in Plymouth with a wreath from the station.

He said: “It’s a huge privilege and an honour to represent the RNLI, and my station in Plymouth, both by delivering the wreath and being part of the service of Remembrance. I am extremely proud of my time in the armed forces, and I will be thinking of those I served with on Monday.

“Being part of the RNLI is similar in some ways. As part of a team, it is important that you know everyone has your back. When the pager goes off at 2am and we launch on a shout, I know that my crew are there with me.”

Gaynor Williams, RNLI education and water safety volunteer from Par in Cornwall, organised a knitathon with volunteers, knitting enough poppies to make a large wreath to take to London. She said: “I am so pleased to have the opportunity to support the RNLI’s involvement in Poppies to Paddington and honour my parents. Both were officers and served in the Wrens and Fleet Air Army.

RNLI volunteer Gaynor's knitted poppy wreaths will be making their way to London's Paddington station on Monday morning for a remembrance service at 10.45am. (RNLI/Phil Monckton)
RNLI volunteer Gaynor's knitted poppy wreaths will be making their way to London's Paddington station on Monday morning for a remembrance service at 10.45am. (RNLI/Phil Monckton) ( )

“It is important to me, and I am so privileged that I can do this as part of my role with the RNLI.”

GWR operations director, Richard Rowland, said: “We were really proud to partner with the RNLI earlier this year as part of its celebrations marking 200 years of saving lives at sea, and it’s wonderful they’ll be supporting our fifth Poppies to Paddington operation.

“Poppies to Paddington will involve 10 train services covering the length and breadth of the Great Western network, including the use our Night Riviera sleeper service from Penzance for the first time, and it promises to be another poignant occasion at London Paddington.”

The RNLI’s partnership with GWR was launched this year as part of the charity’s 200th anniversary and was marked by the unveiling of a commemorative RNLI 200 livery on a GWR train in May.

The RNLI’s participation holds special significance as its connection to the armed forces and acts of bravery during wartime are woven into the charity’s history. Lifeboat crews continued to save lives throughout both World Wars, and many of today’s volunteers and staff are either current or ex-service personnel

The RNLI’s commitment to supporting those who serve in the armed forces was made official when the charity signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2023, reaffirming the charity’s dedication to providing a welcoming community for ex-service personnel looking to continue serving the public in a different capacity.