ITEMS OF INTEREST
RECONNAISSANCE REPORT
Publisher: Casemate www.casematepublishing.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-61200-447-1 Hardback & eBook: 304 pages
RRP: £20
POIGNANT, HONEST, humane and deeply respectful The Flag is a tribute to the memory of David Railton MC MA who served valiantly as a chaplain during the First World War. Written beautifully by former Household Cavalry officer Andrew Richards, if there’s one book that should be read about the 1914-1918 conflict then this is it. Thanks to this heartening and inspiring biography we learn of the dignified, kind and intelligent man who first conceived the idea of ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior’ – a monument which since 1920 is regularly seen by the millions of visitors who pour into London’s Westminster Abbey every year. Nearby in St George’s Chapel, just inside the Great West
Doors, hangs the very Union flag which the heroic Padré Railton used to administer Christian burials and services throughout his time in the mud and blood of the trenches.
In detailed letters to his wife Ruby he revealed that the flag, which gives the eponymous title to the book, was a reminder of home and united the men in their faith and the fight. The kindly Railton, much loved for …
