A RAIL company has commemorated the closure of a railway line that helped support the British effort in World War One a hundred years ago.

To mark the centenary of the Basingstoke to Alton line closing in December 1916, South West Trains put on a special service between the two stations carrying 100 live poppies.

The line was originally closed after the tracks were removed and re-laid in France to help troops gain access to parts of the war-torn country by rail.

At Basingstoke Station, a First World War lorry, on loan from the Thornycroft Society and originally built in the town, was used to carry the flowers.

The event was organised by Basingstoke rail operator Nigel Merry, 50, who said that the reason the event was held in July was because it “not only marked the lives of those who passed, but those of the living” so the poppies that were transported on the train had to be in season.

Mr Merry added: “I wanted to do something to mark an important event in our local community.

“The re-laying of the tracks in France had a big impact on both our local communities in the South of England but also on the war effort and our soldiers in France.”

A pot of poppies was presented to the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane Cllr Jane Frankum before the train departed to Alton.

When the train arrived at its final stop, Mr Merry and members of the British Legion were greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Alton, Cllr Dean Phillips and representatives of the Mid Hants Railway Watercress Line – who were fitted out in historical dress to mark the occasion.

Cllr Frankum said: “With my grandfather fighting in World War One, in the Battle of the Somme, and my father in World War Two, this was an extremely important event for me to attend.

“My father always thought that we would forget about the wars and what happened but when we get to come to events like this, you know people have not forgotten their contribution.

“I think that it would make my father particularly proud to know we will not forget.”