The Unknown Warrior: a four-minute film
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Overview
Uncover the story behind the Grave of the Unknown Warrior with this short film, suitable for primary and secondary classes.
Contextualised within a filmed fictional visit by a mother and daughter to Westminster Abbey, this four-minute guide explores who the Unknown Warrior could be, the context of the First World War, the role of Reverend David Railton, and the significance of the Grave today.
This film is ideal as a starter for Remembrance lessons and assemblies, either using Westminster Abbey teaching resources or your own content. Download the accompanying teachers’ notes document, which includes a full transcript.
Learning objectives
- To learn that the Grave of the Unknown Warrior is a very special grave because we don’t know who is buried in it. All we know is that he was an unknown British serviceman exhumed from one of four battle areas.
- To learn that the idea of burying an unknown soldier was devised by Reverend David Railton in August 1920
- To learn the importance of the grave in 1920 for families who didn’t know where their relatives had been buried. The body of the Unknown Warrior represents all those who died who have no other memorial or known grave.
- To learn the importance of the grave today as the only grave in the Abbey that we ask people not to walk on as a mark of respect.
