The Unknown Warrior

Published 12:00 on 11 Nov 2020

At 1100hrs today, 11 November 2020, the Nation and the Commonwealth paused and remembered the members of their armed forces and civilians who have died in the line of duty from 1914 to present day.

In Britain, central to this memorial day is the tribute paid to the grave of the "Unknown Warrior". The grave or tomb holds an unidentified British soldier who was killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in Westminster Abbey with full military honours and represents all those who died in the War but have no known or recorded resting place.

The County of Sussex lost over 7,400 men on the battlefields of Western France in the 4 years of conflict. The majority of the fatalities were incurred by officers and men serving in the Royal Sussex Regiment. In addition, we should not forget that in 1919 the ESC was formed by a group of Army officers who had themselves valiantly fought on the Western Front.

I suspect many families in the Emsworth area who experienced the loss of loved ones, would have travelled to London with over a million other fellow mourners to line the streets, to bow their heads and pay their final respects to the "Unknown Warrior".

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them". (Laurence Binyon)

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/unknownwarrior100

Cameron March MBE