The Unknown Warrior
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 November 2020
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
100 years ago today, the Unknown Warrior, a common soldier and an unidentified casualty of war, was buried in Westminster Abbey with all the pomp and ceremony of an empire at its zenith. King George V looked on as 100 Victoria Cross bearers formed a guard of honour and the unknown solider was laid to rest. Joining me this Armistice Day is author and historian Juliet Nicolson. Her research has explored the repercussions of living in the shadow of the Great War and together we discuss the backstory of the Unknown Warrior.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, |
| 0:00.5 | folks, Dan Snow here. |
| 0:01.6 | I am throwing a party to celebrate 10 years of Dan Snow's history hit. |
| 0:06.1 | I'd love for you to be there. |
| 0:07.5 | Join me for a very special live recording of the podcast in London, |
| 0:10.4 | in England on the 12th of September to celebrate the 10 years. |
| 0:14.1 | You can find out more about it and get tickets with the link in the show notes. |
| 0:17.5 | Look forward to seeing you there. |
| 0:24.0 | Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dan Snow's history hit. Today is the 100th anniversary of the |
| 0:29.1 | internment, the burial of the unknown warrior in Westminster. Sraby. It was the first time, |
| 0:33.5 | well, it was joint first. The French were conducting a similar service. So it's the first time that a |
| 0:38.1 | common soldier, an unidentified casualty of war, was brought back and entombed in the heart of an |
| 0:45.7 | imperial capital, with all the pomp and splendour of an empire at its zenith. The king led the |
| 0:51.4 | morning. Field marshals and admirals of the fleet were the pallbearers. |
| 0:56.1 | A hundred Victoria Cross winners formed a guard of honour as the great and good looked on. |
| 1:03.6 | Over the last hundred years as Britain's empire, over the last hundred years as the United Kingdom was fractured, |
| 1:09.7 | Britain's empire declined, Britain's political settlement, |
| 1:12.5 | our heritage, our history, our royal family, our constitution has been much fought over. |
| 1:16.4 | But the unknown warrior seems to remain above all that. It is uncontested and has remained so |
| 1:21.8 | ever since that day 100 years ago. Joining me on the podcast now on this Armistice Day special |
| 1:27.3 | is Juliet Nicholson. She is a wonderful |
| 1:30.8 | writer. She's been on the podcast before. She's written about her own illustrious literary family, |
... |
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