Will Storrie

On November 7, 1920, four unidentified British soldiers were secretly exhumed from battlefield cemeteries across Ypres, Arras, the Aisne, and the Somme. The soldiers carrying out the task were given no explanation. Transported to GHQ at Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, the bodies were draped in the Union Flag. Guarded overnight by sentries, one body was chosen at random by Brigadier-General Wyatt and Colonel Gell. The remaining three were respectfully reburied. A French Honour Guard kept vigil over the selected soldier through the night. The following morning, November 8, the soldier was placed inside a custom oak coffin crafted from timber grown at Hampton Court. Fixed to the lid were a crusader's sword and a shield bearing the inscription: "A British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914–1918 for King and Country." On November 9, the Unknown Warrior was borne by horse-drawn carriage past Guards of Honour, accompanied by the solemn tolling of bells and bugle calls. At the quayside, Maréchal Foch offered a final salute before the coffin, adorned with wreaths and watched over by the French Guard, was loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover. Upon reaching shore, he was honoured with a 19-gun salute, a distinction typically reserved for Field Marshals, before being transported by a dedicated train to London’s Victoria Station. After remaining there overnight, he was carried to Westminster Abbey on the morning of November 11. The vision for the Unknown Warrior came from David Railton, a frontline Padre during the Great War. The very Union Flag used as his battlefield altar cloth was the one chosen to cover the coffin. His hope was to offer solace to every family among the 517,773 missing service personnel, giving each parent, spouse, sibling, or child a place to believe their loved one had finally come home. This is the true meaning behind the poppy. It is never about glorifying war. It is about remembering, with deep humility, the profound sacrifices made across every conflict, honouring those who gave everything so we could live in freedom. On November 11, we remember the Unknown Warrior. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.