Little soldiers brighten up King's Lynn station

Scotty’s Little Soldiers has adopted King’s Lynn Train Station as part of its ongoing work to support bereaved children who have lost a parent serving in the British Armed Forces.

The charity will work with Great Northern to maintain the gardens surrounding the station. To mark the new partnership, pupils and teachers from West Lynn School joined volunteers from the charity and Great Northern staff to plant new flowers which the charity will now look after. The group of children from the school will be rewarded with a trip to London as a thank you from Great Northern for all of their help and support.

Scotty’s Little Soldiers was set up by Nikki Scott who lost her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in 2009. The charity provides relief from the effects of bereavement to young people up to the age of 18 who have suffered the loss of a parent serving with the British Armed Forces.

The main objective of Scotty’s Little Soldiers is to get the children smiling again with access to fun activities, holidays to Scotty’s Lodge and gifts at difficult times, but it also provides professional bereavement counselling and a range of grants to help with the children’s personal development.

Karen Gregson, Great Northern Group Station manager, said: “I would like to thank all of the children, teachers and volunteers for coming along to help us plant our new flowers.

“We are extremely honoured to be partnered with Scotty’s Little Soldiers and look forward to welcoming the charity throughout the year. Community initiatives are at the heart of all our stations and we are proud to currently have 60 partnerships across our network where local groups help us to tailor the stations to the areas we serve.

“We also hope that the children from West Lynn School enjoy their visit on the train to London when the time comes.”

Sarah Byrne, fundraising coordinator at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, said: “We’d like to say thank you to Great Northern for the garden - it will be lovely to get stuck in and watch it bloom throughout the year.

“Having our own garden is such a fantastic way to raise awareness of Scotty’s Little Soldiers and the support we provide to bereaved British Forces children, from helping them to smile again with special gifts and trips to our Scotty lodges, to emotional support and educational grants, so that they can look forward to a brighter future full of happiness. We want to reach out to as many bereaved military families in the UK as possible.”

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Govia Thameslink Railway by Citigate Dewe Rogerson

For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call

Southern and Gatwick Express press office: 0203 750 2030

Thameslink and Great Northern press office: 0203 750 2031

Notes to editors

Govia Thameslink Railway

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:

Thameslink – services between Bedford and Brighton, Luton/St Albans and Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks

Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn

Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)

Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 273 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.

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