Benjamin Murphy

“At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we will remember them.” The Armistice, Latin for to stand (still) arms, was an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11am on 11 November 1918.

To this day we mark Armistice Day around the United Kingdom with a Two Minute Silence, and remember all those who gave their lives in service to their country since 1914.

In Bishopsgate, at London’s Liverpool Street Station, members of the rail industry joined together with community stakeholders, veterans and commuters to mark the occasion. This year guests included the Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London and the Master, Upper Warden, Under Warden, Render Warden and Clerk of the Worshipful Company of Coopers (the only livery company, of the square mile’s 113, to be based in Bishopsgate). The service is organised by Michele Ashton, Chaplain to the Railway Industry for Anglia and to the British Transport Police.

Fr. David Armstrong, Rector of St Botolph Without Bishopsgate, leads the service, supported by singers from the choir.

100,000 of Network Rail’s employees enlisted into the Armed Forces during World War I, of which roughly 20,000 were killed. The railways were critical infrastructure to support the mechanical and logistical response to war. Stations like Liverpool Street in London had become hugely symbolic, as places families and friends would say their farewells or jubilantly welcome back their loved ones. The Kindertransport initiative through Liverpool Street Station during World War II is also well known and remembered through the statutes in the station.

Several hundred people attended the service today with commuters stopping to pause and reflect, as representatives from across the railway industry and the City of London laid poppy wreaths at the foot of the War Memorial within the station. These wreaths remain in place throughout the year as an enduring mark of respect.

You can read more about The Railway at War – 1914-1918 here.

Many thanks to everyone who supports this important annual event. Lest We Forget – We Will Remember Them.