The Flag: The Story of Revd David Railton MC and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

Reverend David Railton MC served as a chaplain on the Western Front during World War I. Attached to three divisions between 1916 and 1918, Railton supported the soldiers in their worst moments; he buried the fallen, comforted the wounded, wrote to the families of the missing and killed, and helped the survivors to remember and mark the loss of their comrades so that they were able to carry on. He was with his men at many battles, including High Wood, the Aisne, Passchendaele; he received the Military Cross for rescuing an officer and two men under heavy fire on the Somme. It was Railton’s idea to bring home the body of an unidentified fallen comrade from the battlefields to be buried in Westminster Abbey, and on Armistice Day 1920, he was there in the Abbey as the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest with full honors. Although suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, he returned to work as a parish priest in Margate, where he took particular interest in supporting ex-servicemen who had returned home to the aftermath of a terrible war and crippling unemployment. While the story of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior has been told before, this is the first book to explore David Railton’s life and war, and of ‘the padre’s flag’ he used as an altar cloth and shroud throughout the war. The flag was consecrated a year after the burial of the Unknown Warrior and hangs in Westminster Abbey to this day. Table of Contents Foreword: From the Dean of Westminster Preface Acknowledgements Prologue 1 Sleepless Nights 2 Early Days in France 3 Vimy Ridge 4 Graveyards 5 Military Cross 6 Winter of Death 7 Private Denis Blakemore 8 Kaiserschlacht 9 Back to Blighty 10 Now or Never 11 The Unknown Warrior 12 Hanging the Flag 13 Going Home Epilogue Appendix: Countries that Adopted the Idea of the Unknown Warrior Notes Bibliography Index
ASIN: 1612004474
VSKU: BVV.1612004474.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Richards, Andrew
Binding: Hardcover
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.