Reverend David Railton

The concept of the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey was inspired by the Reverend David Railton M.C. (1884-1955) who was a curate in Folkestone in Kent before becoming a chaplain to the 2nd Battalion of the Hon. Artillery Company on the Western Front during the 1914-1918 war. In 1916, in a back garden at Erkingham near Armentières in France, he noticed a grave with a rough cross, on which were pencilled the words 'An Unknown British Soldier'.

After the war he became vicar of Margate in Kent and in August 1920 he wrote to Herbert Ryle, Dean of Westminster, suggesting a permanent memorial to the fallen of the Great War who had no known grave. King George V and the government, rather reluctantly at first, supported the idea and on 11th November 1920 David Railton saw his dream become reality.

A year later, the Union flag which he had used during the war to drape over his makeshift altars – and over the bodies of soldiers killed in action - was donated to the Abbey, after having been cleaned. The Padre's Flag, as it is known, now hangs in St George's Chapel close to the Warrior's grave.

Today the Grave of the Unknown Warrior is one of the most famous of the Abbey's memorials. Visiting Heads of State include in their itinerary a wreath laying at the grave. Red paper poppies border the stone and it is never walked on.

His life

David was the son of George Scott Railton (1849-1913), a secretary to William Booth and a Commissioner in the Salvation Army, and his wife Marianne (Parkyn). His younger brother was Nathaniel (known as Gerry) and his sister was Esther. He was born on 13th November 1884 at 48 Altham Road, Hackney in London and was educated at Oxford and Liverpool. In 1908 he was ordained in Liverpool and served his curacy there before moving to Ashford in Kent. From 1914-1920 he was curate at Folkestone but had leave of absence to serve in the army. In 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross for saving several men under heavy fire.

After serving as vicar at Margate from 1920-1925 he was later also vicar of Bolton in Yorkshire, at Shalford in Surrey and St Nicholas in Liverpool. During the Second World War he was a part time chaplain visiting RAF bases around the country. He retired to Inverness-shire in Scotland.

His wife was Ruby (Wilson), whom he married in 1910 near her father's residence at Kirklinton, Cumbria, and they had a son Andrew (who was also awarded the Military Cross and served in Burma), and four daughters Mary, Ruth, Jean, and Freda. Ruth (1915-2001) was made a Dame for her work with the National Youth Orchestra. 

On his way home to Scotland in 1955 he accidentally fell from a moving train when a door in the corridor he was leaning against burst open when the train was going over points, and died of his injuries. His grave is at St Bride's church, Onich, on the shores of Loch Linnhe. HIs wife lies with him. The inscription on their grave there reads " In loving memory of David Railton 1884-1955. Also his wife Ruby Marion Railton 1879-1966. Until the day break and the shadows flee away" [quote from the Song of Solomon in the Bible].

Further reading

He wrote his own account of the idea for the Warrior's burial in the magazine "Our Empire" in November 1931

David's letters to Ruby during the Great War were donated to the Imperial War Museum in the 1990s by his son.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.

The Flag. The story of Revd. David Railton and the tomb of the Unknown Warrior by Andrew Richards, 2017

The story of the Unknown Warrior by Michael Gavaghan 3rd edition, 2003

David Railton’s account of the origin of the burial (PDF, 153KB)

Remembering David Railton by Josephine Crilly in The Lady magazine, Nov. 1984

The Unknown Warrior, a personal journey of discovery and remembrance by John Nichol, 2024 (this includes some conversations with the Railton family)