Hartlepool forces veteran capturing The Veterans Charity's Remembrance tribute to the Unkown Warrior
A Hartlepool forces veteran and photographer has been selected to document a tribute to the Unknown Warrior this Remembrance.
Lee Bullivant, a former Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire gunner who retrained as a photographer after injury, is capturing the moving five-day journey recreating that of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of France to Westminster Abbey 106 years ago.
A poppy wreath is being transported from northern France to the Abbey where it will be laid on Wednesday’s Armistice Day.
The tribute is being carried out by The Veterans Charity and involves the Royal Navy and the Army’s Royal Logistic Corps.
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.
Chief executive of the charity Danny Greeno said: “We have kept in touch and when I came up with the idea of this tribute to the Unknown Warrior we wanted to capture the story and couldn’t think of anybody more suitable than Lee.
“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.
“By following this remarkable journey, we hope to share the remarkable story of how David Railton’s passion to honour the fallen led to the events in 1920.”
The wreath to be laid at the Unknown Warrior’s Tomb was selected at Saint Pol in France where the body of the soldier was originally chosen.
From there it is crossing the Channel with the Royal Navy and will be taken to Westminster Abbey in a Royal Logistics Corps horse-drawn carriage.
Lee, 43, said: “It’s been very emotional, especially visiting Thiepval Memorial and seeing 72,000 names of those that have no grave.
“To be part of this project and Danny bringing me in, it’s just eye-opening.”
People can follow the journey with The Veterans Charity on social media and YouTube.