THE daughter of D-Day veteran Harry Billinge was reunited with the train named after him during the fifth annual Poppies to Paddington operation on Armistice Day.

Margot Billinge travelled from St Austell to London as part of commemorations at Paddington Station, which particularly marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day and train operator GWR’s partnership with the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), which this year is celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea.

Poppies to Paddington featured 10 GWR services carrying hundreds of wreaths from communities across the network. On arrival in the capital, the wreaths were laid at the station’s war memorial ahead of a service of remembrance.

GWR named Intercity Express Train 802006 in Harry Billinge’s honour at a ceremony in Cornwall in 2020 and Margot greeted this train as it arrived on Platform 1 at Paddington.

The D-Day veteran and Normandy Memorial Trust supporter, who lived in St Austell, passed away in 2022.

GWR operations director Richard Rowland said: “We were delighted to welcome Margot Billinge to Paddington. Over the past four years, her father’s train has travelled hundreds and thousands of miles across our communities, serving as a reminder of the sacrifice, bravery and tenacity that later generations owe so much to.

“Poppies to Paddington involved 10 train services covering the length and breadth of the Great Western network, including the use our Night Riviera sleeper service from Penzance for the first time, and it was another poignant occasion at London Paddington.”

Margot had previously greeted the train in the summer at Paddington Station before attending a D-Day 80th anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

At the time, Margot said: “Dad would have been 99 this year and not a day goes by when I don’t think about him. I don’t think anyone can truly imagine what all those brave soldiers went through.

“We’ve got so much to thank them for and I just feel so incredibly emotional as we commemorate this special anniversary. It has been wonderful to see Dad’s train again. He was so proud when it was named in his honour.”

Harry was one of the first soldiers to land on Gold beach on June 6, 1944. He was a sapper attached to the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos and was one of only four to survive from his unit. He went on to fight in Caen and the Falaise Pocket in Normandy.

Harry was awarded an MBE in the 2020 for his fundraising efforts, collecting more than £50,000 towards the creation of the British Normandy Memorial.

Gaynor Williams, an RNLI education and water safety volunteer from Par, who organised a knitathon with volunteers creating a large knitted poppy wreath, was also at Paddington on Armistice Day.