London Northwestern Railway has unveiled a poetry plaque in honour of Captain Tom Moore at the 100-year-old’s local station in Bedfordshire.
The plaque, at Millbrook station on the Marston Vale Line, is a special acknowledgement and recognition of Captain Tom’s remarkable efforts in raising more than £32million for NHS charities throughout the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
The wording was crafted by Mick Child, a caseworker for the Social Prescribing Service at the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity.
Mick said: “After being approached by London Northwestern Railway it was an honour to put pen to paper and create my own tribute for Captain Tom. Not only is he our local hero but he has won the hearts of the nation. It felt right to deliver a message on behalf of all the people in the local area for his outstanding efforts.”
Lawrence Bowman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, added: “During a very difficult period Captain Tom has been an inspiration for the whole country and as his local train company we were keen to find a fitting way to honour his work. After reading Mick’s poem we knew it was right to give it a presence at our Millbrook station.
“The tribute is visible for passengers and the local community to read and pause for a moment of reflection and contemplation in honour of for Captain Tom for years to come.”
London Northwestern Railway is resuming rail services on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley in the morning and evening peaks from Monday 24 August.
The operator made the difficult decision to suspend services at the end of March due to the impact of coronavirus. Now with increased numbers of traincrew available and more people returning to the railway, services.
Lawrence said: “I would like to thank our customers on the Marston Vale Line for their patience and understanding while we have been working hard to bring back their train service.
“I’m pleased we will once again see passenger trains on the Marston Vale Line from Monday 24 August and we hope to have a fuller service in place by the end of the year.”
London Northwestern Railway runs trains up and down the backbone of England, connecting three of the major cities: London, Birmingham and Liverpool and stopping at many more, such as Milton Keynes, Crewe and Northampton.
