It was his intention that all of the 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. The idea of the unknown warrior was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served on the front line during the Great War, the union flag he had used as an altar cloth whilst at the front, was the one that had been draped over the coffin.
He remained there overnight, and, on the morning of the 11th of November, he was finally taken to Westminster Abbey. Upon arrival at Dover, the Unknown Warrior was met with a nineteen-gun salute - something that was normally only reserved for Field Marshals.Ī special train had been arranged and he was then conveyed to Victoria Station, London. The coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths, surrounded by the French Honour Guard. There, he was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Verdun bound for Dover. On the 9th of November, the Unknown Warrior was taken by horse-drawn carriage with Guards of Honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle calls to the quayside.
"A British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for King and Country". On top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed: On the morning of the 8th November, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court arrived and the Unknown Warrior was placed inside. The other three were reburied.Ī French Honour Guard was selected and stood by the coffin overnight of the chosen soldier. Sentries were posted and Brigadier-General Wyatt and a Colonel Gell selected one body at random. Once there, the bodies were draped with the union flag. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-Ter Noise. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why.
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.
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