The Unknown Warrior......Lest we forget

[The Gem]

Deep breath , mask up , name and number and out you go

Jesus, that just took me straight back.

Tears rolling down my cheeks.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

The Union Flag that Railton used as an altar cloth at the front and was used to drape over the coffin of the Unknown Soldier before the burial still flies in Westminster Abbey today

 

[theboybilly]

Nice touch from Portsmouth City Council who've put a memorial sign on every street that lost someone and gives the house number they lived in.

Full respect to Portsmouth there. It would be interesting to see what streets in places like Accrington or Burnley, Hull or Grimsby were like. Smaller towns where the younger generation were almost wiped out

 

[AmexRuislip]

Full respect to Portsmouth there. It would be interesting to see what streets in places like Accrington or Burnley, Hull or Grimsby were like. Smaller towns where the younger generation were almost wiped out

Some really interesting stuff here

 

[AmexRuislip]

WWI: The Last Tommies, Series 1: 1. For King and Country: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0brjshr via @bbciplayer

 

[rippleman]

Thanks Alf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy0yb

There is also a documentary that I have watched past 12 months but I haven't been able to find it yet. In the meantime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9O0U-g2VSk

It was suggested on Radio 4 that maybe it is now time to put WW1 behind us now that there are no longer any surviving vets. Well, not me. We must NEVER forget.

(apologies if any fixtures here)

 

[Weststander]

A short story and iconic photo from Passchendaele on BBC. The surviving Tommy in the article, always craved company on Armistice Day for the rest of his long life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46114130

 

[Crennis]

How many knew this,
On September 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-Ternoise. 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, who stood by the coffin overnight. In 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 Wa...r 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 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 Soldier 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. The intention was 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.... Every year on the 11th of November remember the Unknown Warrior....

The OP doesn't mention the guard of honour in Westminster Abbey comprised 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross.

 

[pearl]

A short story and iconic photo from Passchendaele on BBC. The surviving Tommy in the article, always craved company on Armistice Day for the rest of his long life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46114130

I've just read this on BBC site:


'I've said goodbye to 40 mates'
A forces veteran has said it was "a sad thing" to discover he was the only one left at a reunion lunch.

Les Brown, 90, from Maldon in Essex, served in the Army and merchant navy, and has lost most of his sight.

He is a member of the Blind Veterans UK charity and recently attended a lunch at a barracks, where he used to meet up with 40 of his friends.

He said: "I sat in the corner and found I was on my own. That means there's 40 mates there I've said goodbye to in the past and they're gone now and it's a sad thing."

 

[BensGrandad]

I've just read the museum is closed in 2016, but is reopening in Wiltshire in a couple of years.

Can anyone confirm ?

Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk

I read that it has moved to Larkhill which is now the home of the RA, rather than Woolwich, and have sent them an e mail to see if they can help me. Apparently they have re located about 10% of the exhibits and are gradually re sighting the rest.

 

[Weststander]

The OP doesn't mention the guard of honour in Westminster Abbey comprised 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross.

The BBC documentary mentioned 100'000's there on the streets of London on 11th November 1920, showing respect. That's despite the nation trying to forget the pain and suffering from WW1.

 

[AZ Gull]

Nice touch from Portsmouth City Council who've put a memorial sign on every street that lost someone and gives the house number they lived in.

And even closer to home, Eastbourne have placed 130 pavement panels outside the original homes of soldiers who fought in WW1:-





More details (and the stories of the soldiers concerned) here - End of War

 

[BensGrandad]

Thanks Alf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csy0yb

There is also a documentary that I have watched past 12 months but I haven't been able to find it yet. In the meantime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9O0U-g2VSk

It was suggested on Radio 4 that maybe it is now time to put WW1 behind us now that there are no longer any surviving vets. Well, not me. We must NEVER forget.

(apologies if any fixtures here)

At 3.35 min of the footage my grand dad can be seen at the rear of the party as they loaded the coffin on the carriage unfortunately it doesnt cover the actual ceremony in Westminster Abbey but I have seen it many times on other footage covering the event.

 

[pearl]

And even closer to home, Eastbourne have placed 130 pavement panels outside the original homes of soldiers who fought in WW1:-

View attachment 101896

View attachment 101897

More details (and the stories of the soldiers concerned) here - End of War

that's very moving, thank you for posting

 

[pearl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-46155057

 

[lawros left foot]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-46155057

They do look ghostly, what a moving tribute.

 

[pearl]

They do look ghostly, what a moving tribute.

certainly makes you reflect

 

[daveinplzen]

A walk around the graves on the Somme battlefield, when I was younger has always stayed with me, and ,makes me feel grateful that ive made it into my 60s. Seeing graves of 16 and 17 year old children is heartbreaking.

 

[AZ Gull]

[TWEET]1061046569347235843[/TWEET]

 

[Weststander]

A beautiful idea, executed brilliantly by Danny Boyle and a large team of artists on several beaches today. Sand portraits including Wilfred Owen's at Folkstone.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-46172371/armistice-day-wilfred-owen-s-face-etched-in-sand-in-folkestone