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Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey

Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:35
by daggers
Is it generally known that there is a Liverpool connection? The idea for the Tomb came from the Reverend David Railton who had served as an army chaplain in WW1, earning a Military Cross. Plenty can be found online about the process leading to the burial and I will not elaborate here.

David Railton was ordained as a minister of the Church of England by the Bishop of Liverpool in 1908 and served the next two years as curate in the parish of St Dunstan, Earle Road, Edge Hill. He moved away to other parishes and his war service, but returned to Liverpool in 1935 as Rector of Liverpool, at St Nicholas (Pier Head). In 1942 the church was all but destroyed in an air raid and he resigned the living, taking up an appointment as Archbishop's Visitor to the Royal Air Force. In 1945 he retired to Cumberland and died ten years later in an accident on the railway.

A son served as an officer in the King's Liverpool Regiment in WW2.

Daggers

Re: Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey

Posted: 22 Jul 2014 13:14
by MaryA
Well it wasn't known by me, thanks for those details.

Re: Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey

Posted: 23 Jul 2014 22:16
by alcavtay
And for anyone who hasn't read about how the Unknown Warrior was interred (and it was an amazing combination of symbolism and reverence) wikipedia has a pretty good page about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Warrior

Amanda