Nigel Evans, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, is backing a campaign to award the “unknown soldier” with posthumous Victoria Cross.
Anthony Ormiston, a Ribble Valley constituent and former Coldstream Guard, recently wrote to Mr Evans with the suggestion.
Speaking from Westminster, Mr Evans said:
“On 11th November 1920 an “unknown soldier” was laid to rest with full Military Honours, in a ceremony normally reserved for one holding the rank of a Field Marshall.
“In October 1921 the USA conferred on our “unknown soldier” their highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor. In turn their “unknown soldier” received a Victoria Cross.
“The year 2014 will mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War. Mr Ormiston wrote to me to inquire about the possibility of awarding our “unknown soldier” with a posthumous Victoria Cross, which I agree would be a marvellous symbolic gesture to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
“Mr Ormiston is a former Coldstream Guard and an expert on the history of the Victoria Cross. His is an opinion that I take very seriously on such matters and I sincerely hope that his suggestion is investigated fully and eventually comes to fruition. I have written to Philip Hammond MP, the Secretary of State for Defence, and will arranging a meeting with him in the near future to discuss the proposal.”