SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has released unseen photos on the first anniversary of the Coronation of Their Majesties the King and Queen.
The photos provide a behind-the-scenes look as more than 5,000 Armed Forces personnel from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Commonwealth arrived at London Waterloo station for their ceremonial duties.
It was the largest movement of service personnel by train since the State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.
Nine trains were involved, including seven SWR services and two private chartered services, with services arriving by South Western Railway from Armed Forces bases in Aldershot, Alton and Fareham to travel to the Coronation.
Delivering the Armed Forces safely and on time took months of joint planning by SWR and Network Rail, working alongside the Ministry of Defence and partners such as the British Transport Police.
As well as the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey, SWR supported the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle, organising additional trains for its Windsor and Eton Riverside station.
Head of operational readiness who coordinated operations for South Western Railway, Ross Liddell, said: “It was the biggest privilege of my working career to be able to lead such a fantastic team here at SWR, as we put the plans in place to transport members of the Armed Forces into London for their ceremonial activities to support the Coronation, twice if you include the rehearsal.
"It was an absolutely first-class team who put in so much effort to ensure that it was safe and successful, allowing the Armed Forces to do what they needed to do.”
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