The Unknown Warrior

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. As the nation grieved, the need for remembrance became paramount and an idea was born for a single ‘Unknown Warrior’ representing all the missing to be recovered from the battlefields and buried in Westminster Abbey on Armistice Day, 11 November 1920, when the Cenotaph was due to be unveiled on Whitehall by the King. Bestselling author and former RAF Tornado navigator John Nichol draws on his own experience of combat and loss to shine light on this century-old story. His search becomes a moving personal journey exploring the true meaning of camaraderie, service, sacrifice and remembrance from the First World War through to the present day. And speaking to those who have lost loved ones in more recent conflicts, he meditates upon our continuing need of a tangible resting place at which to truly grieve the fallen. Drawing on his own experience of military service and combat, Nichol explores the way individuals and nations have marked the sacrifice of their dead across the ages. Above all, The Unknown Warrior is a search for the true meaning of camaraderie, service and remembrance.