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Sapper Amos Commemoration

A special commemoration will take place at the Midland Railway - Butterley on Saturday 12th May 2018.

A special commemoration will take place at the Midland Railway – Butterley on Saturday 12th May 2018 to mark the centenary of the death of Sapper Alfred Frederick Amos.   Sapper Amos was based at Butterley Station prior to joining the Royal Engineers, where it would seem that he continued to use his railway skills as part of his service on the Western Front until he was killed during a German offensive.

Following some detailed research, a number of his relatives have been tracked down and it is expected that they will be present for the commemoration. A small memorial to him will be unveiled in the station and there will then be a two minute silence on the platform at 11am, marked by locomotive whistles.  It is hoped that visitors, together with staff and volunteers, will join in this mark of respect.  The train services on that day will be dedicated to his memory and the locomotive will carry a wreath of poppies.

Sapper Amos was a member of the 109th Railway Company of the Royal Engineers, but prior to joining the armed forces he was a Midland Railway Company employee based at Butterley Station, where he worked as a Labourer in the Way and Works Department. Although 2833 former employees gave their lives, Sapper Amos was the only one to have been based at Butterley Station.  All of these men, including Sapper Amos’ brother Walter, are remembered on the Lutyens’ designed Midland Railway War Memorial on Midland Road in Derby.  At the time of its unveiling in 1921 the Midland Railway published a book entitled “In Remembrance of the Brave Men of the Midland Railway Who Gave Their Lives in the Great War 1914 – 1918” in which it states “……………those of us who are living under the freedom purchased at the cost of these lives cannot allow the memory of their devotion to die.”

Event co-ordinator, Anne Deeth, said “We too must remember the sacrifices made during the First World War and by remembering Sapper Amos on the centenary of his death we are not only honouring him but also other men of the Midland Railway who also gave their lives. We are delighted that members of the Amos family are planning on joining us.”