The Unknown Warrior: A Personal Journey of Discovery and Remembrance (Hardback)
John Nichol (author)Published: 26/09/2024
The former Royal Air Force officer and author of Eject! Eject! and Tornado Down delivers a poignant and important account of the unidentified dead of the First World War and how the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior came to exemplify a generation's tragic sacrifice.
The unprecedented scale and destruction of the First World War meant that hundreds of thousands of soldiers perished without being properly identified in death. Over 300,000 names were left without bodies to match; bodies, or fragments of bodies, were left without names. Three hundred thousand families waiting in vain to know what happened to their loved ones.
In response to this devastation, an idea was born. A single tomb in Westminster Abbey, housing the remains of an unidentified soldier, to commemorate every one of the missing alongside the nation’s poets, artists, scientists and kings. In The Unknown Warrior, Sunday Times-bestselling author John Nichol embarks on a quest to tell the history of this idea and how it came to be realised.
Along the way, he uses diaries, archives and interviews with the descendants of that lost generation to unearth the stories of some of those who died on the battlefield, and their friends who survived, often struggling with the memories of their fallen comrades and the horrors of war. He talks to contemporary experts in battle-field recovery, organising state occasions, and what it's like to lose someone you love in combat and have no body to bury.
Drawing on Nichol’s own experience of combat, The Unknown Warrior is above all a search for the true meaning of camaraderie, sacrifice and remembrance.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
ISBN: 9781398509443
Number of pages: 400
Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
‘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
‘A brilliant, impossibly moving, poignant, illuminating book – a must-read from a master of modern military writing’ - Daily Express
‘Popular history of the highest order. Fascinating, moving, thought-provoking. A terrific book’ - James Holland
'It is rare to find a tale so strange, intimate and human yet at the same time so enormous, so global in its importance. Yet again John Nichol impresses us with his ability to weave together the little details and the grand narrative' - Dan Snow
'I was very moved by John Nichol's Unknown Warrior -- it is a beautiful, compassionate, emotional book. Utterly fabulous; an astonishing achievement' - Dr Robert Lyman MBE FRHistS, historian, co-author of Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918–40
'A wonderful book; incredibly moving and thought-provoking. John Nichol is uniquely placed to explore a soldier's worst nightmare: to be forgotten. The Unknown Warrior is a mind-churning exploration of how people and nations attempt to find peace when those who gave their lives for them cannot be laid to rest. It is a moving and original tribute to the men and women who may never have a grave but will always be remembered' - Katja Hoyer FRHistS, German-British historian, author of Beyond the Wall
'John Nichol's Unknown Warrior is, quite simply, truly superb. If you thought you knew the story of the nation's 'Unknown Warrior', then think again! This is a powerfully visceral, emotional, and hard-hitting piece of work that, at times, leaves one reeling from the astonishing stories that Nichol sets out across its information-packed pages. It is a subject which he necessarily deals with sensitively, conveying what is his clear and genuine passion in every word that he lays out, and in a manner that engages the reader from the start to the finish of this absolutely remarkable book' - Andy Saunders, military historian and editor of Iron Cross magazine
'A meticulously researched book covering the experiences of soldiers on the Western Front, and the story of the Unknown Warrior resting in Westminster Abbey as a symbol of the hundreds of thousands of the missing. Using his own experience of conflict, John delves into the story, helping the reader understand what those involved went through. An absolutely amazing read; I learnt so much about the process' - Terry Whenham, WWI Battlefield tour guide and host of 'Tales from the Battlefields Podcast'
'The Unknown Warrior's shrine has been a focal point for those who have lost loved ones in conflict for over a century - as relevant today as it was in the aftermath of the Great War. John Nichol's wonderful and eminently readable book is the story behind this remarkable tomb, told by one who has seen war at first hand' - Professor Peter Doyle FRHistS, military historian and co-author of 'Remembering Tommy: The British Soldier in the First World War'
'In these complicated and confusing times, John Nichol brings his own unique perspective to what it means to serve one's country, to put oneself in danger for the greater good. More importantly, he will share with his audience how best we should honour and remember the fallen and learn about the past, whilst trying to make sense of what is happening in the present' - Kate Mosse
'I was very moved by John Nichol’s The Unknown Warrior; it is an immense undertaking, both fascinating and incredibly powerful. An emotional ride -- superb' - Lieutenant General (Retd) Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE -- Royal Artillery and former Chief of Defence People
‘A truly fascinating book which brings the incredible story of the Unknown Warrior to life, and cleverly links the past and the present’ - Paul Reed, Military Historian, The Old Front Line podcast
'A treasured and very special book that makes a critical contribution to our understanding of the power and importance of commemoration, and the complex relationship between our nation and its armed forces. Fascinating and so well told' - Air Marshal Sir Stuart Atha KBE CB DSO. Air Force Commissioner, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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