Military veteran RNLI volunteers in Weston-super-Mare will set off on Monday morning (November 11) to take poppy wreaths to Paddington station for Remembrance Day service.

Setting off from Weston super Mare station at 7.55am on Armistice Day (November 11), they will be carrying with them wreaths all the way to Paddington Station in London to commemorate the nation’s fallen heroes as part of Great Western Railway’s (GWR) Poppies to Paddington.

The RNLI is proud to announce its involvement in this year’s operation, organised by GWR in partnership with The Veterans Charity, to mark Remembrance Day 2024.

The initiative, which has become an annual tradition since its launch during the pandemic, brings together communities from across England and Wales to honour those who have served in the armed forces by placing wreaths on trains bound for London Paddington.

RNLI volunteers from across the GWR network – including many former service personnel – will join the operation by placing commemorative wreaths on board early-morning services on Monday 11 November, at 90 stations along the route.

Now in its fifth year, the Poppies to Paddington operation will feature 10 GWR 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.

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.