I never knew this.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ally
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I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #1
I never 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-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. 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 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 Vernon 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 where he was placed in a tomb at the west end of the nave - his grave was filled in using 100 sandbags of earth from the battlefields.
When the Duke of York (later King George VI) married Lady Ellizabeth Bowes Lyons in the Abbey in 1923 she left her wedding bouquet on the grave as a mark of respect (she had lost a brother during the war) Since then all royal brides married in the Abbey have sent back their bouquets to be laid on the grave.
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 they used as an altar cloth at the front, that had been draped over the coffin.
It is the 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.

 


JJF
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #2
On my 'to do' list.
Have already done quite a lot of the WW2 sites and learned loads....
but
Great uncle lies at Thiepval as he fell at the Somme, he died along with his comrades from the Enniskillen Fusiliers... "lest we forget."
so next year a trip to northern France/Belgium to visit the sites is in order and pay respect and educate myself some more.
Would make a great road trip if we had a few to tag along, nothing organised.... just dates and off we go.


ROBANDSUE
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #3
Very good, sad, but nice.


Mark&Wendy
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #4
Knew the story but not the detail. Thanks Ally, places that are on our list for years to come


TommyS
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #5
Every time we go to France we try and find a museum we haven’t been to. They definitely make you think


Mark&Wendy
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #6
Agree, hoping to get to St Nazaire this weekend to see where the commando raid took place.


Richard
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 13.09.2018  ·  #7
Done the Great War battlefieds ealier this year and the Menin Gate, touching but well worth the trip.


unhappy camper
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 14.09.2018  ·  #8
Have also done the battlefields at the somme and visited the grave of my uncle who died on th 1st july 1916 also the grave of willie mcbride immortalised in the song green fields of france not far from the ulster tower, found the whole experience very moving when you see all those graves and the names on the thiepval memorial it is well worth a visit


eirebus
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Re: I never knew this.

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Posted: 14.09.2018  ·  #9
Thiempval and Menin gate very moving places to visit and for WW2 Orador sur Glane is very moving place to visit


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