The Unknown Warrior : A Personal Journey of Discovery and Remembrance

THE�SUNDAY TIMES�TOP 10 BESTSELLER�Chosen by WATERSTONES as one of their BEST HISTORY BOOKS for 2024`Compelling. [Nichol has a] terrific eye for detail; an ability to blend tear-jerking letters, quotation and personal anecdotes into a rich, thought-provoking narrative'Daily Telegraph�Over one million British Empire soldiers died during the First World War. More than a century later, over half a million still have no known grave.�The scale of the fighting, the catastrophic destruction, the relentless military engagement and glutinous mud meant that many of the dead were never identified, or�often, never recovered. Names were left without bodies, and bodies, or fragments of bodies, without names.�To help staunch the tide of national grief in the aftermath of the conflict, an idea was born for a single 'Unknown Warrior' representing all the missing, to be brought from the battlefields and buried in Westminster Abbey alongside the nation's kings and queens.�Using diaries, archives and interviews with the descendants of that generation and modern-day experts,�Sunday Times�bestselling author and former RAF Tornado navigator John Nichol draws on his own experience of combat and loss to shine light on this 100-year-old story. And in speaking to those who have lost loved ones in more modern conflicts, he examines our continuing need for a tangible resting place at which to truly grieve the fallen.�His search for answers becomes a moving and personal journey, exploring the true meaning of camaraderie, service, sacrifice and remembrance.�