Hartlepool forces veteran captures The Veterans Charity's Remembrance tribute to the Unknown Warrior
A Hartlepool forces veteran and photographer has described the “absolute honour” after he was selected to record a tribute to the Unknown Warrior.
Lee Bullivant, a former Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire gunner who retrained as a photographer after injury, captured moving recreation of the journey of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of France to Westminster Abbey 106 years ago.
A poppy wreath was transported from northern France to the Abbey where it was laid on this year’s Armistice Day.
The tribute was carried out by The Veterans Charity and involved the Royal Navy and the Army’s Royal Logistic Corps.
Lee, 43, documented the five-day journey by videoing it and taking photos.
He said: “To stand at Westminster Abbey and witness the wreath being laid in remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice was an absolute honour and a moment that will stay with me forever.
“It's been emotional, humbling and a real privilege to be part of something so meaningful.”
The Unknown Warrior was interred at Westminster Abbey on Armistice Day in 1920 providing grieving families a place to remember those who never returned.
It was the idea of Army chaplain Reverend David Railton who saw a First World War battlefield grave marked with a simple wooden cross belonging to an unknown British soldier.
The Veterans Charity invited Lee to be capture the tribute after supporting him following a freak back accident in 2016.
The journey involved the selection of the wreath at Saint Pol in France where the body of the unknown soldier was originally chosen.
It crossed the Channel with the Royal Navy and was taken to Westminster Abbey in a Royal Logistics Corps horse-drawn carriage.
Danny Greeno, chief executive of The Veterans Charity, said he couldn’t think of anyone better than Lee to document the project.
Danny said: “The Unknown Warrior is one of the most inspiring and powerful acts of Remembrance, and he has served as a beacon for millions of people around the world who may have lost someone in war.”
The ceremony on November 11 was also attended by Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash who said: “What Lee and everyone involved in the The Veterans Charity have achieved has been truly remarkable.”