On November 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. Once 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. The other three were reburied.
A French Honour Guard was selected and stood by the coffin overnight of the chosen soldier overnight.
On the morning of the 8th November, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court arrived and the Unknown Warrior was 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, he was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover. The coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths, surrounded by the French Honour Guard.
Upon arrival at Dover, the Unknown Warrior was met with a nineteen gun salute - something that was normally only reserved for Field Marshals.
A special train had been arranged and he was then conveyed to Victoria Station, London.
He remained there overnight, and, on the morning of the 11th of November, he was finally taken to Westminster Abbey.
The idea of the unknown warrior was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served on the front line during the Great War the union flag he had used as an altar cloth whilst at the front, was the one that had been draped over the coffin.
It was his intention that all of the 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...
THIS is the reason we wear poppies.
We do not glorify war.
We remember - with humility - the great and the ultimate sacrifices that were made, not just in this war, but in every war and conflict where our service personnel have fought - to ensure the liberty and freedoms that we now take for granted.
Every year, on the 11th of November, we remember the Unknown Warrior.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
We're still on the lookout for players to add to our already strong squad.
Training: Wednesday night
Games: Saturday morning
If interested please get in touch.
@OfficialSMAFA
@TeamfinderScot1
@ScotAmFA@scottish_aff
#ProjectAfrica Day 107: 60km
Gonna be honest the last few days have probably been some of the toughest of my life.
On day 102 I was separated from the boys & the support van after some impassable roads in the planned route.
In an attempt to find the boys at a village on the plan B route, I stumbled into a rural settlement where the chief told me I must give him money. I had none. So that went down well.
Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by lots of game blokes with machetes. Was escorted out the village into the bush. Mind was racing. I’ve heard the horror stories. Thought I might be about to become one. Emptied my bag to show I had nothing but a half eaten biscuit. Gave it to them, and ran.
Spent the next few hours bushwhacking through overgrown jungle paths. Trying to stay off any tracks until I was far away. Made it to the village on the plan B route to find the road was also impassable for the support van again.
Exhausted and dehydrated, I started heading back to the last known place with passable roads when 2 blokes pulled up on a motorbike. They spoke no English but tried to communicate I must come with them to get back to my friends.
As you can imagine, I was extremely reluctant. I also had no money, food, water, signal, data, or knowledge of where the boys were. Was growing increasingly concerned that I wouldn’t find any of these things before sunset.
So I decided my best bet was to trust that the boys had sent these guys to bring me to them. What happened next was a 7 hour motorbike ride deeper into the jungle. In my head I thought this was it. Me. The self proclaimed hardest geezer. About to get held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb and eaten.
So yeah. That was some going. Eventually I rolled into a village late in the evening where I was taken into a hut, and lots of men argued about what to do with me and talked about how much money I owe them (still had none).
Then the acting chief who spoke small amounts of English came, and we managed to iron things out. Get French speaking Harry on the phone, and find that this was a misunderstanding. The boys spent the next couple days trying to get together a rescue plan through some of the worst roads I’ve ever seen. Bring some money for these people, and get me back.
We made it out. And travelled back to the start point of day 102, where I ran 60km today on our new route. My head ain’t fully there right now. But we move the same way as always, forward🫡
🚨 RESULT 🚨
@AS_Airdrie 2- 1 @MoorlandsA
Great result on a poor surface! Lads played their game and paid off in the end 👏🏼 Rumours the ball needs 10 paracetamol 🚀😂😂
@RobbieStirling2 ⚽️
Mark Russell ⚽️
Cue Here MOTM - @martinreilly123 🤝
#ForzaAirdrie ♦️
🚨 RESULT 🚨
@GlasgowSouthAFC 0 - 5 @AS_Airdrie
Superb performance from the lads today 👏🏼 At it from the 1st whistle! Good to get the win and a clean sheet.
@Ibduart ⚽️⚽️
Thomas Kelly ⚽️
@MrFitzpatrickPE ⚽️
O.G. ⚽️
Cue Here MOTM - T. Kelly 🤝
#ForzaAirdrie ♦️