SSAFA – The Armed Forces Charity

Posted on by Sofia Soares
ssafa

Today, on 25th June, we celebrate Armed Forces Day; a day of recognition and support for all the men and women who form the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets. SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity is an organisation that has been supporting armed forces personnel and their families for over 130 years. With a volunteer network that reaches into every county in the UK, and 11 countries around the world, SSAFA is the UK’s oldest national tri-service Armed Forces Charity.

We are proud to be associated with them, and here, we take you through a short history and look at the work of this vitally important charity.

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The Unknown Warrior

Posted on by Sofia Soares

Unknown Warrior

The Unknown Warrior was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey on 11th November 1920. Part of the inscription on his tombstone states: “They buried him among the kings, because he had done good toward God and toward his house”.

But how did the idea for this tribute come about, and how did the Unknown Warrior come to be laid at Westminster Abbey? Here, we take a look at the history of what has become one of the most visited war graves in the world.

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Remembrance Day: Remembering the Unknown Warrior

Posted on by Sofia Soares
Remembrance Day Poppies

Lest we forget…

Remembrance Day is an annual day of reflection and remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, to ensure the freedom of future generations. In addition to the yearly Armistice tributes, 2020 marks a very significant and special anniversary – 100 years since the centenary of the burial of the Unknown Warrior.

In 1920, following the First World War ending in 1918, the decision was made to honor all those who had lost their lives on the frontline and sacrificed everything during the war. These soldiers never returned home. An unidentified British soldier from the battlefields in France was randomly selected and buried with due ceremony in Westminster Abbey, to represent all those from across the Empire who fell in battle and had no proper burial.

The coffin plate of the Unknown Warrior bears the inscription: ‘A British Warrior who fell in the Great War 1914-1918 for King and Country’. The coffin was then covered with the very flag used by David Railton as an altar cloth during the war. This flag is commonly referred to as the ‘Ypres/Padre’s Flag’, and lay draped over the coffin all the way to the Westminster, where it remained for more than 30 years before being moved to St George’s Chapel.

As we mark the 100th anniversary of this solemn centenary and Remembrance Day, we are commemorating and honoring these unnamed soldiers with our new 2020 Unknown Warrior 100th Anniversary Gold Sovereign range. You can view the range HERE.

And now, on this Remembrance Day, we remember and reflect on all those who have fallen…

The 2020 Unknown Warrior 100th Anniversary Gold Sovereign Range

Posted on by Sofia Soares
unknown warrior
This year, we mark a very solemn centenary; on the 11th of November it will be the 100th anniversary of the laying to rest of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

The nature and scale of the First World War was unlike anything that had been seen before. Large numbers of soldiers fell in the service of their country and have no known grave. To honour these men, and to ensure their sacrifice would be forever remembered, an unidentified British soldier from the battlefields in France was buried in Westminster Abbey, to represent all those who fell in battle and had no proper burial.

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