WW1 troop mobilisation reenactment at Waterloo Station

The centenary of the first troop train leaving Waterloo Station at the start of the Great War has been marked by a reenactment at the station.

Sunday was 100 years to the day when the troops began mobilising at London’s railway stations to travel to the south coast before sailing to France. This was just six days after war had been declared late on 4 August.

At 11am on Sunday travellers waiting on the concourse of Waterloo Station heard the London Scottish Regiment pipe band approaching as it led two columns of 'troops' through the main entrance.

The soldiers were members of the Association for Military Remembrance, known as The Khaki Chums, who over the weekend re-created the journey of WW1 soldiers by arriving at the station on Saturday evening, sleeping overnight at Waterloo and departing on a train bound for Southampton in the morning.

In Southampton the band and Chums were due to march from Southampton Central Station and pass through the historic Bar Gate.

At Waterloo a wreath was laid at the Victory Arch war memorial by Teddy Noyse, the last Old Contemptibles Association vice-chairwoman.

On the concourse an exhibition is highlighting the railway’s critical role in the Great War. There are photographs of the soldiers' tea stall at Waterloo and women cleaning carriages at London Bridge Station.

The exhibition is at Waterloo Station for a month before starting a nationwide station tour which will last until the Armistice anniversary in 2018.