Home»Archive Folders»Miscellany»2006 Rededication Ceremony

As part of the celebrations associated with the improvements made to Kidderminster Town Station on the Severn Valley Railway in October 2006, locomotive 50044 Exeter had its nameplates re-applied in memory of the crew of the fourth HMS Exeter.

This ship was a York Class heavy cruiser, launched in 1929 and made famous for its role in the Battle of the River Plate together with the sinking of the German pocket battleship the Graf Spee in 1939. The ship was finally sunk at the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942. The fifth and latest HMS Exeter is a Type 42 destroyer which was launched in 1979. The ceremony was undertaken by an officer from this current ship.

The locomotive had not carried its name since 1996. The new nameplates were not of the style actually worn by the class but that of the named Western Region Class 47 locomotives from the mid-1960s and more in keeping with its two-tone green livery.

Date: 2006-10-14