Final Journey Of The Unknown Soldier

[retrocop]

This is a piece of History I learnt today with some interesting facts.
For instance the congregation at the internment comprised of 100 women who had lost both husband and all sons in the Great War.
100 VC recipients from that conflict were in the congregation.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother laid her wedding bouquet on the tomb and has been a tradition of Royal brides since. Reflect and Respect.

[woofgang]

Yes, I knew this....also that he is buried with a broadsword. Did you know that due to DNA recording there will never be another Unknown Soldier in the UK or USA?

I always felt that burying him with a sword links him with King Arthur...another Warrior who will come again at his country's greatest need.

[jackthehat]

He 'could' be one of my 3 paternal uncles who have no known grave. That always gives me pause for thought...

[retrocop]

My late sister was very interested in the Arthurian Legend, she said it was our Celtic blood, always believed that those dashing young fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain were King Arthur's Knights sent to save us in our hour of need. :-)

[Rockrose]

The Queen mother did it in memory of her brother.

[Zacs-Master]

I can see some men in white coats.

[retrocop]

Apparently this unknown soldier was one of four who were exhumed in France and one box of mortal remains was
chosen at random to lie with Kings.

//On November 7th, 1920, in strictest secrecy, four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Asine and the Somme. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-Ter Noise. There the bodies were draped with the union flag. Sentries were posted and Brigadier-General Wyatt and a Colonel Gell selected one body at random. A French honour guard was selected and stood by the coffin overnight. On the morning of the 8th, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court was brought and the unknown warrior placed inside. On top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed '( a British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for king and country'.





On The 9th of November, the unknown warrior was taken by horse-drawn carriage through guards of honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle calls to the quayside. There it was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Verdun bound for Dover..... the coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths and surrounded by the French honour guard.





On arrival at Dover, the unknown warrior was greeted with a 19 gun salute, normally only reserved for field marshals. He then traveled by special train to Victoria Station London.


He stayed there overnight and on the morning of the 11th of November, he was taken to Westminster Abbey.





The idea of the unknown warrior was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served at the front during the great war and it was the union flag he used as an altar cloth at the front, that had been draped over the coffin. It was his intention that all relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the unknown warrior could very well be their lost husband, Father, brother or son.... //

[Mamyalynne]

Yes, even as a youngster this always moved me when spoken of and read about - always remembered with respect.

[Baldric]

"Respect"

[hereIam]

Thank you for posting this, I admit to not knowing the history of the Unknown Soldier and I found this very interesting and moving.

[Zacs-Master]

Me neither. I knew the general principle that ‘he’ represented ‘missing in action’ soldiers but not the detail. It’s heartening to see such a humane and caring concept come out of something so hideous as WWI.

[grumpy01]

I knew some of the history of how the Unknown soldier was selected from the four exhumed soldiers but not a lot more.Also never knew there had been a service which included those hundred ladies who had suffered such grievous loss.The two phrases "lest we forget" and "lions led by donkeys" are even more poignant now.

[ChillDoubt]

As my avatar might suggest, I do know the history behind the story of the Unknown Warrior.
What I do find particularly humbling is that his is the only grave in the abbey that the public are forbidden to set foot upon.

As for what is currently happening at Cambridge University student union I’ll hold my tongue, as this is a family site.

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Retro.