The Unknown Soldier

In France

Eager to honor the 1,400,000 lives lost during the Great War of 1914-1918, the French government decided to bury an unknown soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. To achieve this, nine remains of unknown soldiers who had fallen during major battles — Verdun, Somme, Chemin des Dames, Flanders, Artois, Marne, Lorraine, Alsace, and Champagne — were exhumed. Lacking certainty about the nationality of one of the bodies, only eight coffins were placed in a column within the Verdun citadel on November 9, 1920, guarded by an honor guard from the 132nd Infantry Regiment.

On November 10, André Maginot, Minister of Pensions, tasked honor guard member Auguste Thin, the son of a fallen soldier, with selecting the soldier who would rest beneath the Arc de Triomphe. Unsure how to choose among the eight coffins before him, Thin added the digits of his regiment number, 132, arriving at the sum of 6. He designated the sixth coffin, placing a bouquet of white and red carnations upon it.

The chosen Unknown Soldier immediately departed Verdun citadel under military escort and was transported by train to Paris. Upon arrival, the coffin made its first stop at the Panthéon, where President Alexandre Millerand paid tribute before it was kept under vigil overnight at Place Denfert-Rochereau.

On November 11, 1920, the Unknown Soldier’s coffin, placed on the artillery carriage of a 155mm cannon, made its solemn entrance under the Arc de Triomphe after a procession up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The coffin was then temporarily housed in a chamber in the left pillar of the Arc while preparations for its final resting place were completed.

On the same day, the seven remaining unidentified soldiers were buried in the “Square of the Seven Unknowns” at the Faubourg-Pavé Cemetery near Verdun. On January 28, 1921, the Unknown Soldier was laid to rest in the presence of civilian and military authorities, as well as prominent marshals Joffre, Foch, and Pétain.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The tomb consists of a vault covered by a slab of Vire granite inscribed with the epitaph: “Here lies a French soldier who died for the Fatherland, 1914-1918.” It is surrounded by black metal bollards linked by chains. Added to the tomb is an eternal flame of remembrance, first lit on November 11, 1923.

The flame rises from the mouth of a cannon aimed skyward, embedded in an overturned shield with a chiselled surface formed by swords arranged in a star pattern. Since that date, the flame has been rekindled every evening at 6:30 PM. This ceremony, known as the “Flame Rekindling Ceremony,” is conducted by the association La Flamme sous l’Arc de Triomphe, Flamme de la Nation

“The Flame under the Arc de Triomphe, Flame of the Nation.”

In Great Britain

In 1920, David Railton, a chaplain in the British Army on the Western Front, proposed a deeply symbolic idea to the Dean of Westminster: to bury an unidentified British soldier, fallen on the battlefields of France, in Westminster Abbey, the church of kings. This soldier would represent the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the British Empire who had died during the First World War.

Selecting the Unknown Soldier
To select this soldier, the remains of four unidentified British soldiers were exhumed and transported to the chapel at Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, near Arras. A brigadier was entrusted with the solemn task of making the selection. The four coffins were placed before him, each draped with a British flag. Blindfolded, the brigadier stepped forward and placed his hand on one of them. The choice was made. The three remaining bodies were then reburied in their original locations.

The journey to Westminster
The selected remains were transferred on November 7 to the citadel of Boulogne under military escort and placed in the fortress library, which had been transformed into a chapel of rest for the occasion. The next day, the body was placed in a new oak coffin sourced from Hampton Court Palace. This coffin was bound with iron and adorned on its front with a medieval sword personally chosen by King George V from the Royal Collection. Above the sword, an iron shield bore the inscription: “A British Warrior Who Fell in the Great War 1914–1918 for King and Country.”

On November 10, the coffin was transported to the port of Boulogne in a specially designed French military wagon, drawn by six black horses and escorted by French troops. Before its departure for England aboard HMS Verdun, Marshal Foch saluted the remains. The ship, escorted by six battleships, crossed the English Channel to the port of Dover in Kent. The warrior was then transported by special train to London’s Victoria Station, where it lay in state until the following day.

The burial ceremony
On the morning of November 11, 1920, the coffin was placed on a gun carriage of the Royal Horse Artillery. Drawn by six horses through the streets of London, crowded with a dense and silent public, the procession paused at Hyde Park. There, King George V unveiled a cenotaph at Whitehall, designed by Edwin Lutyens. The king then joined the procession, touching the standard draped over the coffin. The funeral cortege, now accompanied by George V and his sons – Edward, Prince of Wales; Albert, Duke of York; Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and George, Duke of Kent – along with state ministers, made its way to Westminster Abbey.

A private ceremony took place in the heart of the Abbey’s nave. Among the honored guests were a group of one hundred women, each of whom had lost a husband or son during the conflict. The remains were then interred at the western end of the nave, in soil gathered from each of the principal battlefields. For several days, the tomb was covered with a silk Union Jack and guarded by four soldiers, while thousands of people came to pay their respects.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The tomb was eventually sealed with a black Belgian marble slab. This tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the only one in the Abbey upon which walking is strictly prohibited. On the stone, an inscription in gilded letters, written by Herbert Edward Ryle, the Dean of Westminster at the time, was engraved, forever marking the memory of this anonymous sacrifice.

In the U.S.A

The idea of honoring an unidentified American soldier who died on French soil was proposed by William Connor, commander of American forces in France. It was inspired by the French project to inter an Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, which was completed on January 28, 1921. On March 4, 1921, under the presidency of Warren G. Harding, the United States Congress approved the creation of a tomb for an American Unknown Soldier, to be erected at Arlington National Cemetery.

On October 24, 1921, the body of the American Unknown Soldier was selected in Châlons-sur-Marne. Among four remains from different military cemeteries, Sergeant Edward Younger was entrusted with the solemn task of making the selection. He chose the soldier by placing a white rose on one of the coffins.

On October 25, the remains of the American Unknown Soldier were transported from Châlons to Le Havre by special train. The transfer was marked by Franco-American patriotic demonstrations. An impressive procession moved through the city’s streets, from the train station to Quai d’Escale, allowing the people of Le Havre to express their gratitude to the Unknown Soldier and, through him, to the entire American army. At Quai d’Escale, after receiving the Legion of Honor from the hands of Minister André Maginot, the Unknown Soldier was embarked on the American cruiser USS Olympia for his journey to the United States.

On November 11, 1921, during a solemn ceremony, the remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery. President Harding presided over the ceremony in the presence of numerous dignitaries and veterans.

Over the years, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was expanded to include unidentified soldiers from World War II, the Korean War, and initially the Vietnam War (though the Vietnam War soldier was identified and exhumed in 1998). The perpetual guard of the tomb, carried out by soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment (“The Old Guard”), along with annual ceremonies, reflects the enduring significance of this tradition and the deep respect for military sacrifices in American culture.

In Canada

In 1998, the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) initiated the project to incorporate a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier into Canada’s National War Memorial as part of the Millennium Partnership Program. The aim of this project was to honor the thousands of Canadian military personnel and Merchant Navy members who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, whose burial sites remain unknown.

Given the historical significance of the Battle of Vimy, the first major engagement of Canadian Forces under Canadian command, it was decided that the remains of the Unknown Soldier would be sourced from this iconic site.

On May 25, 2000, the remains of the Unknown Soldier were transported from Beaurains to Canadian Cemetery No. 2 at Vimy, where they were placed before the Cross of Sacrifice. Subsequently, they were moved to the Vimy Memorial, where a solemn ceremony took place in the presence of French and Canadian dignitaries. Following the ceremony, the coffin was transported to Lille Airport and then loaded onto a CC-150 aircraft of the Canadian Armed Forces for its journey back to Canada.

On the same day, the aircraft arrived in Ottawa, where it was received by the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Art Eggleton. The coffin was then transported in a procession to the Cartier Square Drill Hall and placed on a gun carriage to be taken to the Peace Tower. A period of vigil was opened to the public, preceded by a ceremony attended by the Governor General and the Prime Minister. On May 28, 2000, the coffin was brought to Canada’s National War Memorial, where a national ceremony was attended by over 15,000 spectators and approximately 1,000 veterans. Later that day, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was sealed, marking the completion of the project.

Today, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier holds a central role in all ceremonies at Canada’s National War Memorial. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony, thousands of Canadians place their poppies on the tomb in tribute to those who gave their lives for the country. This project, culminating in the ceremony of May 28, 2000, represents the result of two years of planning and collaboration among numerous organizations, and stands as a tangible tribute to the sacrifices of those who served.

In Australia

More than 310,000 Australian soldiers participated in the First World War, including 180,000 on the Western Front in Belgium and northern France. Among them, 60,000 lost their lives, including 48,000 on the Western Front, where 11,000 graves of unknown soldiers are located.

The Adelaide Military Cemetery, in Villers-Bretonneux, was established in June 1918 by the 2nd and 3rd Australian Divisions. It contains 955 graves of soldiers killed between March and September 1918, during the German offensive in Picardy. To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great War, Australia sought to organize a major commemorative event. On November 2, 1993, the remains of an unknown Australian soldier were exhumed from this cemetery. A commemorative plaque now stands at the site of his former grave, marking this event.

On the morning of November 2, 1993, an initial ceremony took place at the Australian Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, attended by numerous dignitaries and Australian and French military personnel. The body was then transferred to the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, a highly symbolic site for all Commonwealth soldiers.

On November 5, a military aircraft departed from Cambrai, carrying the body of the Unknown Soldier to Sydney, where it was received with full honors on November 7. From Sydney, the body was escorted to Canberra by Australian and French military forces, where it lay in state for three days at the Old Parliament House. Finally, on November 11, the soldier was interred at the Australian War Memorial shortly after 11 a.m.

The Unknown Soldier now rests beneath the dome of the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial. During the funeral ceremony, a handful of French soil was placed on the coffin by Robert Comb, a veteran of the Western Front. This symbolic soil came from the site of the Pozières windmill, where 7,000 Australian soldiers lost their lives in the span of six weeks. As he dropped the soil into the grave, Robert Comb murmured, “There you go, mate, you’re home.” These poignant words marked the symbolic return of the Unknown Soldier to Australian soil.