Features

The Enduring Power of the Unknown Soldier

Dennis Ellam looks back at the origins of the tomb that has been a vital part of our national remembrance since 1920

In the 11th month of every year, on Remembrance Sunday, the nation pays homage to its war dead.

And rightly so… when even crowned heads are bowed, and thousands parade past in ever-greater numbers, then it’s an enduring and very public reaffirmation that sacrifices have not been forgotten across the generations.

But even more poignant, surely, than the ceremony centred around the Cenotaph is the memorial that lies just a short walk away – the tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

A solitary soldier who perished among his comrades on the battlefield, his identity forever a mystery, his rank quite irrelevant, his life cut short like all those 750,000 British and Commonwealth lives lost in World War One. Could there be a more fitting and eloquent reminder of the true nature of conflict and remembrance?

Whoever he was, rich or poor, the Unknown Warrior lies at the spiritual heart of the nation, inside the entrance of Westminster Abbey: “They buried him among the kings because he had done good toward God and toward His house” reads the inscription on his marble gravestone (the only one in the Abbey on which it is forbidden to step).

We will never discover any detail about him. The very few who might have been in on the secret have long since taken it to their own graves. But the story of how he was selected, amid rising public bitterness that persuaded the government to bring home an Unknown Warrior and grant him State honours, tells us a great deal about how Britain was changed by the First World War. In fact, it was exactly 100 years ago – in 1916, midway through the war – when the idea first began to take shape.

An army padre, the Rev David Railton, just back from the front line, was back at his unit’s billet, gazing at a newly-dug grave marked with a crude wooden cross and a handwritten epitaph: “An Unknown British Soldier”. It left a lasting impression on the Rev Railton.

To continue reading the full article click here

Have you visited the tomb of the unknown soldier? Does his story have a profound effect on you?

Let us know what you think and share your experiences with us and others. Just follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and YouTube

Other stories in Features

Bomber Command
Cropredy – the friendly festival
Cricket Summer of 1964
Heroes in the Mountains
1974, the strangest of years
Motorbike at the National Motor Museum
June's book reviews
Royal robes
Peter Sellers’ Aston under the hammer
National Bingo Day 27th June 2023
Hen Harriers
Air up
Simon Evans reviews the latest CDs
April’s Top DVDs selected by Simon Evans
Here we go, here we go…for the Coronation
Otter
Easter on a budget
‘The Slug’ will race again after 100 years
Bath night for dogs
Classic Motoring Memories
Tios Drinks
Shake up your makeup
New Year, New You
From Italy with love
Mail-order meat comes of age
Christmas recipes
Christmas Crafts Part 2
Back to your roots
In your garden in Winter
Christmas Crafts
Christmas Gift Ideas
Vegan Skincare
Recipes for hope
Beauty Feature - Embrace the grey
Calling all coffee fans!
World Oceans Day 8th June
Beauty Feature - Feet First
Craft Corner - A great Easter basket
Battle of Britain
Claire Foy "I didn't get life until I was 32"
Alexander Armstong: "My family is my priority"
Cosyfeet Community Award 2019
How to Maintain Your Independence in the Kitchen
Ruth Wilson "Audience's don't know who I really am"
1969: The Year The Dream Died
Want to live the (Feel)Good Life? Move to Watford
Pressures of the sandwich generation
Steve Coogan"The most radical thing I can do is talk about love"
Oldie of the Year 2019
Rabble: The Movement keeping you fit and making you money!
Suzi Quatro: "I've always been a rocker at heart"
Giving up plastic
Women in WW1
Do you remember? UFO
Bognor and other Regises
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: 'Imagine'
Bill roache "It's a real privilege to make people happy"
Nana Mouskouri "Music brings me peace, love and hope"
How to Earn Money by Working from Home
How to get the best night's sleep, every night
Ringo Starr "I'm learning to handle life"
Headphones with a built in hearing test
Petula Clark: "I make the most of every moment"
London's other underground
Blue Peter: Here's one they made earlier
Gary Oldman: "Acting is an antidote to self hatred"
Emilia Fox: "I've learnt to find my own voice"
Love Your Gut Week Recipes
Puffin photos help to tackle decline of the 'clowns of the sea'
Craig Revel Horwood: "I don't care what people say about me"
Do you remember? Apple Records
What a Carry On!
Worried about being worried?
"I feel like the unluckiest person in the world."
Death of a Princess
Queen Elizabeth: Happy and Glorious
The Beatles: It was 50 years ago...
Hank Marvin: “Meeting Cliff changed my life”
Nicole Kidman "Children are the joy of my life"
The world of Parry Ray
Monty Python: Something completely different
Staffordshire Day
I always think I'm going to get found out
All shook up...The day that Elvis died
Twiggy: "I thought the world had gone mad"
Peter Capaldi: "I like characters who are strange"
Make eating breakfast a resolution which sticks, with milk&more
"Turning 60 can't be that bad!"Jennifer Saunders
Bradley Walsh "Variety is great for the soul"
Thank you, Brewood
"You never know what's round the corner"
1966 and All That
Remembering the Heroic Olympians
Martina Navratilova: "I Always Question Authority"
Guide for choosing clothes for older relatives
Getting older and disabled drivers behind the wheel
Men in Sheds
Scared to Shop!
Over 40s Named Most Successful Online Daters
Stay at home mum and author re-ignite's her career
Dating in later Life
Great garden getaways
Toton Engineman Review
The Making of Les Mis
“I’m a restless person by nature”
"We’re such country bumpkins”
Still time for tearooms
Hallowed hall of fame