Members of the local community joined together with representatives from railway, heritage and civic organisations on Thursday 8 May for a special 80th anniversary VE Day event at Haslemere Station.
The event, led by Rev. Chris Bessant, rector of Haslemere, and Rev. Chris Henley, railway chaplain, included the unveiling of a new memorial to the 626 Southern Railway victims of World War 2.
The new Haslemere plaque, temporarily mounted on the rear of the signal box, is destined to become the focal point of a memorial garden planned for a wedge of land extending beyond the signal box and behind the cycle store.
Among the guests at the event were representatives from Network Rail, South Western Railway, Community Rail Network, the Railway Heritage Trust and Railway 200. Local MP Gregory Stafford was also present.
Ken Griffiths, chair of Haslemere Signal Box Trust, said: “We felt there was previously not enough done to honour these people. Southern’s World War 1 victims – all 585 – are named in a memorial at London Waterloo, but the nearby World War 2 plaque simply refers to the 626 victims.
“We are hoping to identify each of the 626 by name – and perhaps gather details of where and how they died.”
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from Haslemere Community Station via their website.
