Appeal for relatives of WW1 West Somerset Railway workers

A heritage railway is appealing for the relatives of World War One rail workers to come forward.

The West Somerset Railway Heritage Trust is holding a special service of remembrance on 11 November.

They are hoping to invite the relatives of any Great Western Railway (GWR) employees who worked on the Taunton to Minehead branch of the West Somerset Railway Line).

"We enjoy freedom thanks to their sacrifice," said organiser Ian Camp.

"If you're related to one of these heroes please contact us," he told BBC Somerset.

The West Somerset Railway is a 22-mile (36 km) heritage railway line which originally opened in 1862.

It initially ran between Taunton and Watchet, and in 1874 it was extended from Watchet to Minehead.

The line was closed by British Rail in 1971, but reopened in 1976 as a heritage line.

Mr Camp said a lot of GWR workers joined the royal engineers during World War One, going on to work on the tracks.

GWR also produced eight 16-coach ambulance trains during the war. The heritage trust are currently restoring one of the carriages.

The special remembrance service in November will be invite-only.

"We would love to try and find any relatives of these men who gave their lives up for our freedoms that we could invite to come," said Mr Camp.

People can reach the trust via their website.

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