The Flag: The Story of Revd David Railton Mc and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
Zoomicon-zoom-in
The Flag: The Story of Revd David Railton Mc and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior
The Flag: The Story of Revd David Railton Mc and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

The Flag: The Story of Revd David Railton Mc and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior

By
Andrew Richards (Author)  

Hardback

In Stock

Quantity
Reverend David Railton MC served as a chaplain on the Western Front during World War I. Attached to three divisions between 1916 and 1918, Railton supported the soldiers in their worst moments, he buried the fallen, comforted the wounded, wrote to the families of the missing and killed, and helped the survivors to remember and mark the loss of their comrades so that they were able to carry on. He was with his men at many battles, including High Wood, the Aisne and Passchendaele; he received the Military Cross for rescuing an officer and two men under heavy fire on the Somme. It was Railton's idea to bring home the body of an unidentified fallen comrade from the battlefields to be buried in Westminster Abbey, and on Armistice Day 1920, his flag covered the coffin as the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest with full honours. Although suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he returned to work as a parish priest in Margate, where he took particular interest in supporting ex-servicemen who had returned home to the aftermath of a terrible war and crippling unemployment. While the story of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior has been told before, this is the first book to explore David Railton's life and war, and of 'the padre's flag' he used as an altar cloth and shroud throughout the war. The flag was consecrated a year after the burial of the Unknown Warrior and hangs in Westminster Abbey to this day. This book explains how the idea came out of Railton's traumatic experiences on the Western front, and how he made his idea become reality, drawing on his letters and unpublished papers. 16 pages of photos
Andrew Richards served 22 years with the Household Cavalry. During his last years of service, he graduated from the Open University with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Humanities with History and Classical Studies. Since retiring from the Army, he has written both fiction and non-fiction titles. His first non-fiction book, The Flag, was published by Casemate in 2016.
  • Contributor: Andrew Richards
  • Imprint: Casemate Publishers
  • ISBN13: 9781612004471
  • Number of Pages: 304
  • Packaged Dimensions: 152x229mm
  • Format: Hardback
  • Publisher: Casemate Publishers
  • Release Date: 2017-11-01
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Biography: Andrew Richards served 22 years with the Household Cavalry. During his last years of service, he graduated from the Open University with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Humanities with History and Classical Studies. Since retiring from the Army, he has written both fiction and non-fiction titles. His first non-fiction book, The Flag, was published by Casemate in 2016.

Delivery Options

Home Delivery

Store Delivery

Free Returns

We hope you are delighted with everything you buy from us. However, if you are not, we will refund or replace your order up to 30 days after purchase. Terms and exclusions apply; find out more from our Returns and Refunds Policy.