EMR collaborates with eight community groups to create unique artwork installations for Remembrance Day

East Midlands Railway (EMR) marks the occasion annually to remember the fallen heroes with services of Remembrance at Nottingham and Derby railway stations on Armistice Day.

Supporting The Veteran’s Charity, EMR has created special ‘Routes of Remembrance’ Lanyards for employees and applied a vinyl to a cl222 train, which can be seem travelling on EMR’s Intercity route along the Midland Main Line.

This year, EMR has collaborated with local artist, Mel Langton and eight community groups across the East Midlands to create unique artwork installations for this year’s Remembrance Day. The project has been jointly funded by EMR, Community Rail Network and six Community Rail Partnerships across the East Midlands.

The interactive workshops saw participants use different mediums of art to represent Remembrance in their community. Each group created a unique piece that is now on display at their local station, alongside a plaque and QR code.

The eight individual pieces will travel across the East Midlands by rail and will be installed to create one large piece of art at both Nottingham and Derby railway stations. When the pieces come together, they will cleverly create a new piece of artwork. The collective piece will be on display by the war memorials, in time for the services on Armistice Day (Friday 11^th November).

The artwork will be hosted on the link below https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/remembrance Any customers travelling through the local stations where the individual pieces are displayed, can scan the QR code where it will take them to the bigger artwork installation piece on the EMR webpage.  

One of the community groups involved were the Sleaford Cadets, from St. George’s Academy, Sleaford. The Cadets took part in a film produced by EMR and ‘AV IT! Media that shares what Remembrance Day means to them. Ex-service EMR employees feature alongside the Cadets, sharing their experience in the Armed Forces and how important it is to reflect on Remembrance Day.

The eight community groups who took part in the project are listed below, as well the local railway station where customers can view their artwork pieces:

• Rhubarb Farm – Langwith-Whaley Thorns Railway station
• 9th Lincoln Rangers – Lincoln Railway station
• St Martins School Horizon Group – Peartree Railway station
• Ambergate Primary School – Ambergate Railway station
• Allison Scout Troup and Wilford Scout Troop - Barrow-Upon-Soar Railway station
• Great Coates Primary School – Great Coates Railway station
• Sleaford Cadets – Sleaford Railway station
• Arts & Minds at Middleport Pottery – Longport Railway station

Will Rogers, Managing Director for EMR, said “The unique artwork pieces created by the community groups are brilliant. Each piece tells its own story about their local area and then when the pieces come together, they cleverly create a new image.  

“It is incredibly important that we never forget the past and it’s great to see people from all generations remembering those who were brave enough to risk their lives for the world we live in today."

Donna Adams, Head of External Relations for EMR, said: “Each year we work on this special initiative for Routes of Remembrance, I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from the community to ensure we remember our fallen heroes.

“It has been wonderful to be part of this community project, seeing how each group represents their local area and finding out what Remembrance means to them."

The artist who has helped create the unique artwork installations, Mel Langton, said: “It was an honour to be asked to help put together the artwork for the Routes of Remembrance project.

“Working with such diverse and wonderful groups across the East Midlands to create their special pieces has been a real joy.”

ENDS