The Unknown Warrior

The British tomb of The Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during World War I. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London on November 11, 1920, the earliest such tomb honoring the unknown dead of World War I. 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.

Related Topics:
British - World War I - Westminster Abbey - London - November 11 - 1920

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The Warrior was conferred the US Medal of Honor on 17 October 1921, from the hand of General Pershing; it hangs on a pillar near to his burial site.

Related Topics:
Medal of Honor - 17 October - 1921 - General Pershing

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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.

Related Topics:
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - France - Arc de Triomphe

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When Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the future King George VI on April 26, 1923, she laid her bouquet at the Tomb on her way into the Abbey, a gesture which every royal bride since has copied, though on the way back from the altar rather than to it.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon - King George VI - April 26 - 1923

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The tomb in Westminster Abbey is in the far western end of the nave, only a few feet from the entrance. The black Belgian marble covering the grave is the only tombstone in the Abbey on which it is forbidden to walk.

Related Topics:
Westminster Abbey - Grave - Tombstone - Abbey

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The British Unknown Warrior came 76th in the 100 Great Britons poll.

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