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
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
Neil Bartlett, writer
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

Hanna Hagle, Student

133 7 2
By LetterUnknownSoldier

How strange life is. One moment you’re alive – your heart is beating, your lungs are breathing, your hair is growing. Then a moment later, you’re gone. Your body is an empty shell without a soul.

If you’re lucky, your soul leaves your body when your body is too old and too weak to hold on to it. If you aren’t so lucky, your body is simply too weak.

You weren’t lucky at all. Your soul was ripped from your body at far too young an age. You had years ahead of you, but they were all stolen from you.

And that’s just it, isn’t it? Nobody gets what was stolen from you. Had they stolen your money, your weapon, anything at all, they would have gained something. But what is there to gain from stealing another’s life? You may take another man’s years, but you cannot keep them. They will slip through your fingers like a fist of sand, and will leave you with nothing but dirty hands.

Your years were stolen from you, but you are still remembered. People may not know your name, people may not know how you looked, but we remember you.

I pray it will be enough.

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

Feeling inspired? Write your own letter to the unknown soldier and join the 18,000+ 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

SUBMISSIONS OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 4.

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