Letter To An Unknown Soldier

By LetterUnknownSoldier

8.6K 284 45

This story is a collection of short letters that have been submitted to the Unknown Soldier project. The proj... More

Anonymous, Mother
Leila Bradley, Descendant
Angela McSherry, Arts-producer
Beverley Chipp
Hanna Hagle, Student
Anonymous, Teacher
Caroline M. Davies, Poet
Mateo Lara, Student
Naomi Alderman, Writer
Sean, US Infantry
Dawn French, Writer
Joanna Lumley, Actor
Margaret MacMillan, Historian
Bobbie Blackman, Pupil
David Cameron, Prime Minister
David Kynaston, Writer
Benjamin Zephaniah, Poet
Melvin Burgess, Writer
Malorie Blackman, Writer
Kate Charlesworth, Cartoonist
Nathan Filer, Writer
Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister
Amanda Craig, Writer
Alyssa Hollingsworth, Graduate Student
Nabil M Mustapha, Grandfather
Mark Haddon, Writer
Sean Spain, Student
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Journalist
Stephen Pelton, choreographer
Tanya Landman, Writer
Chelsea Asher
Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Daljit Nagra, poet
Sebastian Faulks, Writer
Jo Clifford, writer/playwright
Kate Pullinger, writer
Rosie Tobutt, Student
Stephen Fry, Writer / Actor / Presenter
Doreen McSherry, great-grandmother
Chih-Hsiang Lo, student
Orla & Ella, students
Reginald Webb, ex-RAF
Isobel
Amy Barnard, student
Gary Owen, writer
Alistair Mack, Soldier
Patricia Rogers, writer
Caryl Churchill, Playwright
Emily Duke
Andy McNab, Writer
Sharron Tubb
Alan Warner, Writer
Esther Freud, Writer
Bob and Roberta Smith, artist
Maura Ellis, mother
Anonymous, history-buff
A.L.Kennedy, writer
Patrick Gale, writer
Owen James, writer
Deborah Levy, Writer
Lee Child, Writer
Bonnie Greer, Writer
Miss Darcy, dog-blogger
Geoff Dyer, Writer
Benjamin Zephaniah
Selina Todd
Stella Duffy
Stephen Cleator, Tank Commander
Martin Daws
Christina Reid, Writer
Courttia Newland, Writer
Rosie Maynard
Bernardine Evaristo, Writer
Robert Saleh, Teacher
Kathryn Hughes, Writer
Jean Wilson, Grandmother
Gill Hawkes, Mother
Marina Warner, Writer
Freya Finch Atter, Student
Bryony Lavery, Writer
Dennis Gimes, Veteran
Nathalie Stocks, Student
Jules Phelan, ex-squaddie
Owen Sheers, Writer
Inua Ellams, Word/Graphic Artist
Aminatta Forna, Writer
Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, Poet
Glenn Patterson, Writer
Hollie McNish, Poet/Spoken Word Artist
Louise Welsh, Writer
Bob and Roberta Smith, Artists

Neil Bartlett, writer

77 4 0
By LetterUnknownSoldier

Handsome, you’ve done your job.

The committee that commissioned you explained to the artist that a good war memorial should provoke the emotions of Pride, Sadness  and  Fondness  - and he certainly  gave them just what they ordered . He raised you up, smoothed out your face and spread your legs , making the women and boys go weak at the knees, the mothers sob and the men push out their chests and cocks.  Christ but you must be tired.

I can’t even look at you without my throat starting to ache with un-cried tears.

So here’s an idea. Take a breakRead this – read it twice if you can bothered – and then  screw  it up, toss it aside and come down. And I beseech you, don’t do it at some magical, mythical, dream-sequence midnight ; do it in the rush hour. Do it when the place is packed.  Do it when nobody can believe their eyes. Clamber down when whistles are blowing and the hard-working dead-hearts are swarming off their trains, desperate for home and a drink or two ; leave them screaming and slack-jawed and shitting in your wake, uselessly clicking shots on their phones as you trail wet bronze across Platform One, slouching monstrously towards the tube to dismay them down there too.  Let  people  gibber that the dead are roaming , that they’re  looking for someone to shaft. Let word spread of three new sensations; Horror, Fear and Shame.

Think that might achieve something ?

You never know.

Sleep well.

--------------------------------------------

Feeling inspired? Write your own letter to the unknown soldier and join the 10,000+ people who have already contributed including Stephen Fry, Lee Child and Malorie Blackman.
Post your letter on your own Wattpad account with the tag #UnknownSoldier, and then upload it to our online memorial at www.1418NOW.org.uk/letter/new

Continue Reading

You'll Also Like

22.2K 786 44
The kingdom is at war. In the midst of the chaos an unlikely pair develop an unlikely bond, becoming torn between love, duty and faith... is it all a...
1.3K 53 40
Isn't just fun being stuck with piles opf homework and stressing yourself 24/7? Today Courtney is going to take a wonderfull *Cough* *Cough* not, adv...
33K 996 50
Dear the family of Lance Corporal Blake...
3.5K 98 18
Completed fan fiction for the film 1917: This is the very first fan fiction I've ever attempted. Please be kind. I hope you like it. It features all...