Selection of the Unknown Soldier candidates

[PhilB]

This seems a odd reason to use for choosing the ship? 
“The ship chosen to take the coffin of the Unknown Warrior from Boulogne to Dover was HMS Verdun. The vessel was specially selected to perform this duty as a compliment to France, given the significance of the Battle of Verdun to the French people.”

[Muerrisch]

WFA Stand To! Number 120 Special on the Unknown Warrior is, at first reading, excellent, and contains a three part work that I would have been proud to have researched and written. 

Very few typos ["internment"] and a scholarly, balanced and referenced examination of the process of the UW from inceptio through selection to tidying up.

 

Truly a serious and deep, and necessarily inconclusive, review .

 

I am the WFA's fiercest critic at times, but this edition makes the year's sub worth it.

[Marilyne]

how can one get a copy??? 

 

M.

[Muerrisch]

2 hours ago, Marilyne said:

how can one get a copy??? 

 

M.

Pm me and I will find out for you

[kenf48]

Listening to Unknown Warrior on Radio 4, readings to commemorate the Centenary; does not add much to the story that is known and has been recounted many times but does pull it all together

 

Episode 1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000p6gk

[Marilyne]

googling about something else and ending up with my favorite band on youtube again, I found this. 

Well done, Sabaton !! 

 

 

 

.M;

[PhilB]

Interesting to hear that the French could not find a reliable body at one site because some were German. It makes the point that a chosen British body would need to have enough clothing to confirm it being British but not enough to give an indication of rank, regiment etc. As the proportion of dug up unknowns meeting those criteria could be quite small, the diggers may have had a lot of digging to do!

[kenf48]

3 hours ago, PhilB said:

Interesting to hear that the French could not find a reliable body at one site because some were German. It makes the point that a chosen British body would need to have enough clothing to confirm it being British but not enough to give an indication of rank, regiment etc. As the proportion of dug up unknowns meeting those criteria could be quite small, the diggers may have had a lot of digging to do!

 

It is perhaps worth bearing in mind Railton’s idea was prompted by a simple wooden cross on which was pencilled, ‘An unknown British soldier’, it would not have been difficult to find many other similar graves.  While it’s acknowledged the bodies came from different locations the recovery parties appear to have been directed to cemeteries already created.  Time was limited and that was the only practical solution.

[kenf48]

Mark Scott has done some diligent research and produced a book Among the Kings in which he produces compelling evidence as to the fate of those who were not selected.

I've not read the book but he has also done a podcast on the WFA 'Despatches' and produced a You Tube video released a couple of days ago.  It's rather long and he is not the most compelling narrator but the evidence is about an hour in.