Images Dated 28th February 2014

Shunter in the wartime blackout, c.1940

Blackouts were challenging times for some GWR employees, as this image of a shunter taken at Bristol shows. Limited lighting during an air raid posed a serious health and safety risk, especially in busy depots or marshalling yards. Even in daylight the task of coupling and uncoupling wagons was a dangerous job. But at night it was even worse and during a blackout it must have been a daunting experience, even for a skilled shunter. Shunters were required to use lamps that had shades attached. This meant they were less visible to aircraft during an air raid, but it also had a negative impact on their working visibility

Morning luoping

The county of Luoping in eastern Yunnan is noted for its beautiful scenery in spring, when its fields of canola (also known as rapeseed) flowers are in full bloom, surrounding the area's mountains with a sea of golden flowers to spectacular effect

© Nutthavood Punpeng

499714355, Beauty In Nature, China East Asia, Color Image, Day, Horizontal, Illuminated, Landscape, Luoping, Majestic, Morning, Mountain, Nature, No People, Outdoors, Photography, Residential Building, Road, Rural Scene, Scenics, Sky, Sun, Tranquil Scene

Woman using steam press at Swindon Works, 1942

Although women were employed on the railways prior to 1939, work involving the operating of heavy machinery, as shown in this photograph, was considered to be unsuitable for the fairer sex. The severe shortage of staff during the war meant that the railways had to open up male only roles to female workers. The GWR was slow to embrace this fact, initially only allowing women to be employed in the more genteel roles within the company, and it was not until 1943 that women began to infiltrate into all areas of railway employment

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