If you suddenly hear Stephen Fry’s dulcet tones telling you to ‘mind the gap’ unfortunately he will not be standing next to you but is one of the celebrities taking part in tube announcements across London for Poppy Day.
Transport for London (TfL) has teamed up with a host of recognisable voices, football clubs and performers to encourage Londoners to give generously in support of The Royal British Legion’s London Poppy Day on Thursday (October 30).
A total of 21 famous voices, including Brian Blessed, Barbara Windsor, Joanna Lumley and Sir Terry Wogan will be heard at over 70 Underground stations, on all 8,500 buses and 11 Network Rail main line stations - including many in west London.
To mark the centenary of the First World War, TfL has also created a special poppy design using the famous line from The Great War poem by John McCrae, In Flanders fields the poppies blow.
A train on the Circle line and on the Metropolitan line, as well as an Overground train and 10 buses will be entirely wrapped in the design.
Outside the Royal Albert Hall and South Kensington tube station bus shelters will be adorned in the design and it will feature on 2,000 limited edition Tube maps.
Commuters will also be entertained by special performances, including tricks by magician Troy and a live performance by X Factor stars, Rough Copy, while buskers, bands and choirs will also be performing across the network.
London’s Transport commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy, said: “It’s a great honour for us to be supporting London Poppy Day again. This time of year is always poignant as the nation remembers those who made such profound sacrifices, and this year is particularly important as we mark the centenary of the start of the Great War.
“This could not have been done without the support of our sponsors and celebrities and I would like to thank them for helping us mark London Poppy Day and raise awareness of a great cause.”
There is also a rare chance to see London Transport Museum’s recently restored and the world’s only operational Battle Bus in Covent Garden Piazza on Thursday, which used to transport troops.
All 2,500 London Poppy Day volunteers on October 30 will be able to travel for free on the tube and volunteers coming to the capital by train from October 29 to 31 will also get free travel.
Find out who you can hear at which stations:
In west London:
Brian Blessed : Waterloo, Cannon Street, St James’s Park, Theydon Bois, Liverpool Street
Barbara Windsor : Great Portland Street, Baker Street, Leytonstone, Aldgate, Paddington, Northwick Park, Blackfriars
Michael Portillo : Pimlico, South Kensington, Sloane Sqare
Sir Terry Wogan : Charing Cross, Ealing Broadway, Embankment, Hammersmith (Hammersmith and City and Circle line) Goldhawk Road, Latimer Road, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park, Royal Oak, Paddington (Suburban)
Emma Freud : Notting Hill Gate, Marylebone, Shepherd’s Bush, Knightsbridge
Stephen Fry : Westminster, Victoria, Covent Garden, Southwark, Hammersmith (District and Piccadilly line)
Queens Park Rangers (Joey Barton and Rob Green) : White City, Wood Lane, Shepherd’s Bush Market
Fulham FC (Scott Parker and Dan Burn) : Putney Bridge, Parson’s Green
Chelsea FC (John Terry) : Fulham Broadway, Earl’s Court, West Brompton
The rest of London:
Arsenal Football Club (Arsene Wenger and Mikel Arteta) : Arsenal, Holloway Road, Finsbury Park
Trevor Nelson : Barbican, Oval, Green Park, Old Street, Rayners Lane
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson : London Bridge, Angel, Islington
Joanna Lumley : Stockwell, Canary Wharf, Tower Hill, Bank, Hyde Park Corner, Bond Street, North Greenwich
Peter Dickson (Voice of X Factor) : Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, South Kenton
Tottenham Hotspur FC (Andros Townsend and Ben Davies) : Seven Sisters, Tottenham Hale, Tottenham Court Road
Marcus Bentley (Voice of Big Brother) : Euston, Monument, Temple
West Ham United FC : Upton Park, West Ham
