The Midland Railway supported the war effort in World War One.
It released men to go to the Front; it provided essential transport; and turned part of its workshops over to the production of munitions. Many women were recruited to maintain the workforce. They worked on the operational railway and in the workshops.
Brass Shell Case
Produced in the Derby Works of the Midland Railway during WW1.
[RPYMR:1988.315.16]
Midland Railway Engineering Department – Records of Employee Service in World War 1, covering the period 1914-1915
Pages 77 to 138 of a weekly record of staff entering service with remarks about their return, injury, death or awards.
[RPYMR:1988.11.19.6]
Railway Service Lapel Badge, c. 1914-1918
These badges were issued to staff who were in “reserved occupations” during the First World War in order that they were not targeted for not having joined the armed forces. This badge is from the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway in which the Midland Railway had a significant holding.
Similar badges in the collection are from the Midland Railway, with others from the LMS in WW2.
[RPYMR:1994.3.21]
Image from 6″ x 8″ Glass Plate Negative, duplicate of DY12316
The Cenotaph on Midland Road, Derby being unveiled on the 16th December 1921 by Mr. Booth, taken from Cavendish House.
Other War Memorials to fallen Midland Railway employees were also officially photographed. This negative forms part of the Brian Radford Collection.
[RPYMR:2024.150]
Remembrance Book, 1921
This book commemorates the Midland Railway employees who served during the First World War (1914 -1918). Of significance, it records every employee who was killed.
The names are listed in alphabetical order, giving no preference to rank, either within the Company or the Armed Forces. For each man their Rank, Regiment, and details of their employment for the Midland Railway is recorded.
A copy of this book was sent to the relatives of every man who had died. This coincided with the unveiling of the Midland Railway’s War Memorial in Derby.
[RPYMR:1988.287]
MR Carriage & Wagon Department, Roll of Honour, 1919
This Roll of Honour recognised the contribution of those men from Derby who served in WW1. Three men, whose pictures feature at the top, were killed during the conflict.
[RPYMR:1997.9]
Record of M R employees who enlisted in the armed forces in WW1, 1919
Entitled “For King and Country 1914” this publication records the names, occupation and rank of those m r employees, including their normal occupation and place of work, who enlisted in the armed forces in WWI. It also records those who died, went missing, were taken prisoner of war or were wounded.
[RPYMR:2022.83]