a peaceful, accessible green space

Alongside the restoration of our historic signal box, we are creating a memorial garden on a wedge of derelict railway land immediately adjacent to it.

The garden will serve three purposes:

• A peaceful, accessible green space for visitors;
• A lasting tribute to the 626 Southern Railway workers who lost their lives in service during the Second World War;
• A home for larger museum artefacts, including a donated 2-foot-6-inch gauge railway (read more here).

A lasting tribute

At the heart of the garden will be a specially commissioned stainless-steel memorial, designed to evoke the railway’s heritage while providing a dignified focal point for reflection. Around it, we’re planning paths, seating, and planting, together with interpretive panels telling the story of the railway’s wartime workforce.

The gauge railway will sit alongside these features once restored, and the site will be fully accessible, including for wheelchair users.

A home for museum artefacts

We’re delighted to have secured the generous support of David O’Brien Landscape Architecture, whose designs are shaping the garden. Work to the garden is hopefully going to start soon, once a lease for the site has been agreed with Network Rail, with the memorial and artefacts planning to be installed in phases as funding and time allow.

There is still a lot to do, and we’d love your help.

Whether through a donation, volunteering your time, or a business offering materials or services, every contribution brings this space closer to completion.