The Unknown Warrior conceived in 1916 by the Reverend David Railton, who, while serving as an army chaplain on the Western Front, had seen a grave marked by a rough cross, which bore the pencil-written legend 'An Unknown British Soldier'. He wrote to the Dean of Westminster in 1920 proposing that an unidentified British soldier from the battlefields in France be buried with due ceremony in Westminster Abbey "amongst the kings" to represent the many hundreds of thousands of Empire dead. The idea was strongly supported by the Dean and the Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Arrangements were placed in the hands of
LMS Patriot Class 5551 The Unknown Warrior LMS 8F 2-8-0 no 48518, a set of LMS Fowler Tenders (both of which being from Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry Island) are also going to be used in the project. Examples of new parts that will be constructed for "The Unknown Warrior" alongside the frame include the driving wheels and the second fowler tender (the first having usable parts but not fit for re-use itself due to corrosion). On 31 March 2009, two frame plates were cut at Corus Group plc Steel, Cradley Heath in the West Midlands. Measuring 39 ft in length 4 ft high and 1 1/8