Long-serving LNER travel consultant Paul Simpson has made it his mission to ensure that York‘s war graves are never neglected.

Paul, who is based at York station, set up the group ‘Flowers for the Fallen’ on social media after a visit to his mother’s grave.

Noticing that nearby soldiers’ graves were bare, Paul decided to bring flowers for them too.

Inspired by stories of his grandfathers’ military service, Paul has visited war graves on the French battlefields.

These experiences meant that, when he saw the neglected graves in York cemetery, Paul felt he had to do something.

Paul, who has worked for LNER for almost 25 years, realised that many servicemen’s graves might have become abandoned because they had no one around to look after them.

Two years on from setting up ‘Flowers for the Fallen’, Paul is now one of nearly 200 people who regularly visit the graves of 25 service personnel in and around York to lay flowers and pay their respects.

The volunteers are supported by local supermarkets, which donate their unsold flowers to help Paul and his group make sure that the memory of these local fallen is kept alive.

Whilst investigating the war graves in York Cemetery, Paul discovered the final resting place of LNER police officer Robert Smith, who died in the Baedeker air raids on the city’s railway station in 1942.

Until it was located by Paul’s research, Robert’s grave never had a permanent memorial stone. LNER subsequently arranged for a specially-commissioned headstone to be made and this was unveiled last month.

The idea came when I was visiting my Mum’s grave. She is buried alongside two soldiers, and I noticed that each time I visited, they didn’t have flowers on their graves … So, I started laying flowers on their graves and thought how lovely it would be if I could extend this to all the service personnel graves which may no longer have someone around to take care of or tend them. That’s when ‘Flowers for the Fallen’ was formed.

We’re incredibly grateful to those who support us. What started as one or two bunches of flowers being donated has increased to boxes, which has enabled the group to expand, meaning we can remember even more veterans and the sacrifice they made. It’s about honouring the fallen and bringing together people from the community to do something important in memory of those who gave their today for our tomorrow.

Paul Simpson