London Victoria railway station currently has a pop-up exhibition on the concourse which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the journey and burial of the Unknown Warrior.
The Nation Army Museum in Chelsea has created the display panels which explains the story. On the 10th November 1920 at 8:32 pm a train pulled into Victoria station.
Onboard one of the carriages was the body of an unidentified British serviceman who had been killed in the fighting of the First World War.
He was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey the following day.
The exhibition will be available to view until the 17th of November giving passengers plenty of time to observe social distancing and to view the display.
At the National Army Museum, an extensive exhibition of the story will be on display until 14th February 2021.
Nicole Cohen-Wray, station director for Network Rail Southern region said: “It's a great shame that we have not been able to see the crowds which originally accompanied the Unknown Warrior on his original return to Britain but we are honoured to be able to support the National Army Museum in this small way so that passengers passing through Victoria Station may be able to stop briefly to understand the story and memory of the Unknown Soldier.”
Justin Maciejewski DSO MBE, Director at the National Army Museum, said: “Despite current restrictions on travel, we were determined to tell the story of our Unknown Warrior to all those that need to use Victoria Station at this time. We hope that rail travellers are able to pause for a few moments at our poignant exhibition and reflect on this monumental story of national remembrance, thanksgiving and healing as they pass the place where he arrived by train into London.”
“We are pleased that Network Rail are able to host this exhibition to the Unknown Solider at Victoria Station. It's a shame that the pandemic has meant we've had to downscale our commemorations, but we hope people who do absolutely need to travel during this lockdown period are able to see and reflect at this small exhibition.”
Edward Winter, Station Manager for Southeastern at Victoria, said: “We're pleased to be supporting the recreation of the Unknown Warrior's journey from Dover to Victoria and that this display will be going up to explain to our passengers about those historic events.
“We ask all passengers on our service travelling through Victoria to continue to respect social distancing guidelines but to take in the exhibition over the coming week.”
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