2020:REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

The pre-Covid noise and bustle of the London street on which Westminster Abbey stands, the queuing traffic, the sounding of horns and the faces of frustrated car and van drivers. The exhaust fumes from the stationary traffic. Pedestrians walking quickly along the pavements, heads down, eyes focused on their phones. Everyone in such a hurry, wrapped up in their own world. 

If one stops to pause and look up at the splendour of Westminster Abbey, to take time to stand still and think about the building one might remember that within the walls of the Abbey there lies the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. 

In 1920, it was proposed that the body of an unknown soldier, sailor or airman lying in an unmarked grave abroad be returned to England for burial in Westminster Abbey. This was to symbolise all those who had died for their country, but whose place of death was not known, or whose body remained unidentified.

It is generally agreed that between four and six bodies were exhumed from each of the main British battle areas on the Western Front on the night of 7 November 1920, and brought to the chapel at St Pol, in northern France. Each was covered with a Union Jack.

The commander of British troops in France and Flanders, Brigadier General Wyatt, picked one. This was placed in a coffin which was taken to Boulogne, where it was transported to Dover on HMS Verdun. The other bodies were reburied.

On the morning of 11 November 1920 - the second anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War One - the body of the Unknown Warrior was drawn in a procession to the Cenotaph. The Cenotaph a new war memorial on Whitehall, designed by Edwin Lutyens was then unveiled by King George V.

At 11 o'clock there was a two-minute silence, and the body of the Unknown Warrior was taken to Westminster Abbey where it was buried at the west end of the nave. The text inscribed on the tomb says 'They buried him among the kings, because he had done good toward God and toward his house'.

In the week after the burial an estimated 1,250,000 people visited the abbey, and the site is now one of the most visited war graves in the world.

Thousands of Navy, Army and RAF personnel have no known grave. The RAF memorial at Runnymede in Surrey is just one of thousands of war memorials in the UK. It is a place that provides the opportunity for quiet reflection as one walks along the colonnades pausing to look at the ranks and names of the 20276 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War who have no known graves. They came from all parts of the Commonwealth.

As I stand at the gallery window and look out across to West London, I think about the hundreds of airplanes that fly every day over the memorial at Runnymede as they take off from and land at Heathrow. I wonder whether the passengers look out and realise that the freedom they have to travel freely across the world on business and leisure is only possible because of the sacrifice made by those whose names are listed on the memorial plaques.

Every year my husband, a retired RAF Officer, and I visit Runnymede to pay respects at the plaque listing his uncle Richard and the crew of his plane who were shot down in June 1940 by the Luftwaffe as they returned from defending the beaches of Dunkirk during the evacuation of British and other Allied forces in Europe. Their final resting place, a watery grave somewhere near Godwin Sands.

During last year’s visit we saw a group of children laying a Royal British Legion remembrance cross at each plaque and standing for a minute with their heads bowed. It was poignant moment.

Their teacher explained that he arranged for his pupils to do this every year because it was so important for everyone, especially those for whom WW2 is something they read about it in history books, to recognise the sacrifice made by so many.

‘When You Go Home, Tell Them of Us and Say,

For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.'

Lt Col (Retd) Merrill Bate ARRC 1980-2002: Served for 22 years in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.
Nursing Officer 1980-1982
Clinical Nurse Teacher 1982-1985
Nurse Tutor 1986-1990
Senior Nurse Tutor 1990-1996
Head of Army Nurse Education 1996-1999
Head of School of Healthcare Studies, Royal Defence Medical College 1999-2002
NHS Leadership and Talent Management Consultant 2003 -2016