THERE’S a chance to join the Worcestershire World War One Hundred team aboard the Cavell Van on the Severn Valley Railway on Thursday, June 14.
This is a rare opportunity to see the carriage that brought the body of Edith Cavell and later the Unknown Warrior back to England after the First World War.
On loan from the Kent and East Sussex Railway, visitors can ride on a steam train, tour the Cavell Van, visit the Highley Engine House and Museum as well as hear a talk on the First World War and the Cavell legacy.
Edith Cavell was a British nurse during the First World War. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides and helping more than 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium before she was caught and executed.
Redditch is home to The Cavell Trust, which was set up in her memory as an advocate for nurse welfare.
In 1919, the Cavell Van was used to bring her body back from Belgium.
The following year, the same wagon transported the body of the ‘Unknown Warrior’ prior to a funeral at Westminster Abbey, representing the many who died without being identified.
The tour starts from Kidderminster SVR Station at 10.15am and is due back there at 4pm.
Tickets are £25 (including buffet lunch) from the ‘library events’ section of the Worcestershire County Council website, call 01562 757900 or click here
