Talk:The Unknown Warrior/Archive 1

Untitled
"Several other nations would follow the example and have their own Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the most famous being France's, beneath the Arc de Triomphe."

Untitled
The above statement doesn't seem very encyclopedic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.171.5.85 (talk • contribs) 18:36 UTC, November 1, 2005

Even the battlefield the Warrior came from is not known, kept permanently unknown so that the Unknown Warrior might serve as a symbol for all of the unknown dead wherever they fell.

The part in bold does not make sense. Surely it should be:

Even though, the battlefield the Warrior came from is known, it is kept permanently unknown so that the Unknown Warrior may serve as a symbol for all of the unknown dead wherever they fell.

1) It makes perfect sense as it is. It means that the battlefield is unknown because it was deliberately kept unknown. Your proposed change does not make sense: how can it be both known and unknown? It is not a secret knwon only to a few, it is not known by anyone.

2) Another sentence says the inscription is made from silver from melted down ammunition. I doubt that they used silver to make ammunition, they weren't fighting werewolves. I am editing this to read silver-coloured metal.86.137.102.183 19:08, 12 July 2006 (UTC)


 * It says "brass". -- R OGER  TALK 21:23, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Victoria Station
"it was taken to Victoria Station, where it arrived at platform 8 at 8.32pm that evening and remained for the night of the 10th - at both locations there is a plaque"

trivial I know, but can anyone confirm this - I had a wander up and down platform eight last night, and couldn't find a plaque. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.212.72.126 (talk • contribs) (12:42, 25 July 2007)
 * It's on the end of the wall.--DavidCane (talk) 18:47, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Link to image of plaque added.--MoorwaySouth (talk) 22:31, 20 August 2016 (UTC)

Line break
The display of World War I in the first paragraph will surely depend on the user's browser window width — highly indeterminate — so I can't see any justification for having line break in. AWhiteC (talk) 23:20, 11 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Fair enough, I'm glad you brought it up on talk, might I suggest a piped link and a  then? Regards,  Ryan 4314   (talk) 23:53, 11 December 2008 (UTC)

King-Emperor George V?
Hi, I was reading through this article and in the section about 'Selection... etc.' The text says 'King-Emperor George V.' I have never heard of King George V refered to as an 'Emperor'. Indeed the the tomb itself refers to 'King George V'. Is this a mistake or was His Majesty King George the Fifth actually an Emperor as well? I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than I could make any needed changes for factual accuracy. Thanks. Mondegreen de plume (talk) 05:21, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

He was also Emperor of India.Biblioteqa (talk) 17:06, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Other Uses
I thought it would be best to put this here for comment first, rather than maybe detract from the rightfully solemn, respectful tone of the article.

When I was in the Royal Navy, the term 'The Unknown Warrior' was also universally used for a sailor who preferred to spend most of his off-watch hours in the privacy of his bunk: maybe reading books, listening to the BBC World Service on shortwave, or writing letters to his loved ones etc. The idea being that when he finally emerged from his bunk, the other members of the mess (perhaps playing cards) would watch him walk across the mess, before one (with a quizzical look on his face) would silently mouth "Who's that???". The answer being "The Unknown Warrior". 86.146.27.191 (talk) 01:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Someone added a note to the effect that Kate Middleton (sic.) had made an exception to the tradition of placing her bouquet on the tomb. I updated this to read "Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge", since she had already been married at that point. However, reading the reference that's cited here, the Queen didn't do this immediately after the wedding either, and the bouquet was returned the day after to be placed on the tomb. That being the case, Catherine isn't (yet) an exception to this tradition. Should the whole "exception" clause be removed? 86.7.22.214 (talk) 12:11, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

In the absence of opposition, I'm going to revert the changes that added this "exception" clause, since she has not *yet* (as of 29 April 2011) broken with tradition. 86.7.22.214 (talk) 12:52, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Walking on the tomb
The article says:"The grave was then capped with a black Belgian marble stone (the only tombstone in the Abbey on which it is forbidden to walk) ..." Is there a law that forbids stepping on this tomb, and a guard on duty to enforce that law, or is there a barrier around it preventing access to it, or what? Is there an actual legal prohibition, with a prescribed penalty for violation, or is it just a custom visitors are expected to honor?

Since this evidently is the only one of the many tombs in the floor of the abbey accorded this treatment, it seems to me that the mechanism by which walking on it is prevented should be specified.--Jim10701 (talk) 00:00, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
 * That whole sentence is lifted almost verbatim from here (found in the citations for HMS Verdun (L93). I've added the reference to the article. --2003:C4:DF01:C354:C96F:C6E8:2535:3911 (talk) 08:25, 20 February 2022 (UTC)

claification needed
"The other bodies were then taken away for reburial by Rev Kendall. It seems highly likely that the bodies were carefully selected and it is almost certain that the Unknown Warrior was a soldier serving in Britain's pre-war regular army and not a sailor, territorial, airman, or Empire Serviceman"

I think this needs claification. How were the bodies carefully selected? How is is highly likley that it was a pre-war regular soldier as opposed to any other member of the armed forces from either UK or the Empire? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.4.86.206 (talk) 19:54, 28 June 2012 (UTC)
 * The likelihood of him being a pre-war regular could only be known if the body bore insignia of a purely regular regiment or a regular army battalion, and was likely to be of age to have been in service pre 4 August 1914. I also understood he was designated Unknown Warrior (not soldier) in case the body had been of an RFC airman or one of the Royal Naval Division.Cloptonson (talk) 20:43, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Number of coffins
Today's Daily Mail references the number of coffins brought to Britain and some personages involved. This is the full title of the article: 'My grandfather picked six unidentified corpses and draped their coffins with the Union Flag before a General selected one': Chaplain's grandson reveals how The Unknown Warrior was chosen to represent a million dead British servicemen

Details of how Unknown Warrior was chosen have remained a mystery Unidentified body brought to Westminster Abbey from France in 1920 Document by Army chaplain George Kendall explains how it was chosen Selected six unidentifiable corpses and ensured coffins looked the same He then let Brigadier General L.J. Wyatt choose one of them at random

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2598107/Revealed-time-How-Britains-famous-soldier-The-Unknown-Warrior-chosen.html#ixzz2yP8o4tgW --User:Brenont (talk) 15:50, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

The comment about the grave being the only one uncarpeted during the wedding of Prince Albert and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon does not accord with its citation, that says this ocurred during the wedding of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.

Uncarpeted
The comment about the grave being the only one uncarpeted during the wedding of Prince Albert and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon does not accord with its citation, that says this ocurred during the wedding of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.198.204.72 (talk) 22:04, 8 September 2015 (UTC)