IN a unique service to mark the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, a little steam engine has been dedicated to all those who worked on the trench railways along the Western Front in the First World War.

The Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Michael Langrish conducted the remarkable ceremony at a windy and wintry Woody Bay Station near Lynton, home to the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway on Tuesday.

The engine, re-named Axe, after the Devon river, is one of a batch of 30 ordered by the French government from British manufacturers Kerr Stuart.

They were known as Joffre class engines — named after the French commander in chief.

It is likely that the little engine worked along the trench railway systems built to supply the front lines with ammunition, food and water — as well as bringing back wounded men to be treated for their injuries.

Peter Miles chairman of the railway's trust explained: "It is the first British locomotive to have been restored and dedicated in this way and it has taken 25 years."

Afterwards, the Bishop said: "I have never presided over anything like this before. It's certainly unique and I take my hat off to the organisers."

He added: "It's particularly special when you think that the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage, on a railway siding — and now, here we are on this little railway station, observing the 90th anniversary."

Following the sounding of the Last Post by a bugler with the Barnstaple Town Youth Band, two minutes' silence were observed at precisely 11am.

And in a moving ceremony, children from the three West Exmoor Federation schools of Lynton, Parracombe and Kentisbury planted little crosses in a Memorial Garden at the station.

Lily Berry, aged 11 and Maisie Squire, nine, both from Lynton Primary School, explained that they had been learning about the World Wars and had looked at the war memorial in the town to find the names of local servicemen who had fallen in battle.

Each child's Cross bore the name of one of those local servicemen.

Teacher Clare Cooke from Kentisbury School said: "The boys in particular have been fascinated by the project we have been doing and did some research about the First World War, learning about trench foot and what conditions were like.

"They said it was the best project they had ever done — and one of them, pertinently, asked 'If the First World War was so bad, why did we have a second one?'"