A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION

Hokitika Guardian, 15 May 1926, Page 4

A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION

iOE UNKNOWN SOLDIER'S TOAIIL The following graphic description ol a. visit to tl» tomb appeared in a London newspaper, under the title ol “Among tile Kings,” written by 11. A'. Morton. Westminster Abbey. I Mobil there yesterday beside our Unknown AVarricr, who lies not only at tho heart ol London, but also at tho heart of England, here in magic earth in this sacred soil, so warm in love, so deep in honour. No noise of traffic disturbs his sleep, no unkind will'd whistles over him-, no solitude ol night. Instead tho silence of a mighty Church, a, silence as deep and lovely as though lie were lying in some green country graveyard steeped in peace, above him a twilight in which the stored centuries seem to whisper happily ol good things done for England.

In the centre of the nave, free from the barriers that once hedged it lay the grave cf the Unknown Warrior—a large black marble slab oil which, a long inscription is inlaid in letters, ol brass. From a pillar in the North aisle near the grave hung a worn looking Union Jack. How English! Most other nations would have explained somewhere for all to see that this is no ordinary Hag, that it. gained 'ho-w

creases, which, some woman's careful ironing and pressing have been unable to efface, when it covered a rude Communion Table in Eranee with the lHst Brigade of tho I7tii (London) Division. When they brought the Unknown Warrior through the streets with tho sombre guns booming and the troops slow marching to a wail of brass, this was the Hag that covered the coffin ; ai d there il hangs unheralded in the Abbey. In its creases you may sec--ah! how many Last Suppers in Elandor’s fields.

An official guide, wearing an armlet mine up with two Americans, husband and wife. They read aloud Ihe i nsrript ion :

"Underneath this Until' rests lie* body of a British Warrior unknown by name or rank. brought from fTnuro to he amongst Hie most Illustrious ol the Land, and buried here on Armistice Day, lllh November. 1021). in the presence of His .Majesty King George A .. His Ministers of Stale, the Chiefs o! I lie Forces, and a vast concourse of I fie Nation. Thus are i unnnemnraled the many multitudes who gave, during tho Great War cl ]OM-i8 tin; most that man can give life itself tor God, King and Country, for loved ones, home and Empire, for the sacred curse of Justice and the Freedom of the World They buried him amongst (!'.'.* Kings because he had done good Inwavds God and His House." “That's beautiful,” they said quietly—“that's the most beauliful thing in London.” “Those brass loiters ‘explained the guide,’ are made from cartridge eases melted down—eases picked up in the British linos in France alter iho war." T’hcv went over to the Union .lack,

and beneath it they looked at a email glass case, in which Is Ihe hlue-riblam-ed Congressional Medal of Valour, the gift of the people ol the United Slates, the highest Order in their power to give.

They wen! away, lingering here and there under the vast arch of the Nave, and .stood there thinking. There were flowers—a few tulips freshly pulled and daffodils, the first of the year. This tomb and Cenotaph hear witness to the greatest emotion, this Nation has over felt. Children are brought here evorv voar, and so Liu* memory

without the sharp,ness perhaps, felt by us iib lived through it goes on to

another generation. In this way

nation keeps alive its holy places. Wonderful to think of this unknown hoy or man lying here with our Kings, our Captains, our Prophets, and our Priests. It is the first time in the history of the world that this has happened. His fame is greater too; lie is

Everyman who died in the war. X matter how many mothers believe tin lie is theirs, they are right—for he i

every mother’s sou who did not come home from France.

Always as long as England stands in history, this marble stone will tell the story of the only unknown man to whom the great Abbey of Westminster opened its arms wide saying; “Come in you Unknown Warrior among the Kings and the Great, Ones of all time, for you too are great, you too spent your life nobly, and you too are for ever Ihnly in the memory of this people.”

As T went out, a thin rustle of organ music came whispering down the nave, and far off, like a voice in a cloud, sounded the echo ol a prayer.”