It might not have been classed as a state funeral for the Unknown soldier but it was still a pretty impressive affair
The HMS Verdun, escorted by six warships, transported the Unknown Soldier to Dover, where the coffin's arrival was greeted with a 19-gun salute. Six warrant officers from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force and Royal Army then bore the coffin home to British soil to be taken by train to Victoria Station in London.
On the morning of November 11, six black horses drew the carriage that bore the Unknown Soldier through London's crowd-lined streets, pausing at The Mall, Whitehall, where the Cenotaph was unveiled by King George V. The King, his three sons, members of the Royal Family and Ministers of State then followed the coffin through the streets to the north entrance of Westminster Abbey.
At the west end of the Nave in Westminster Abbey the Unknown Soldier was laid to rest after passing through an honor guard that consisted of 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross (both British and Canadian). Following the hymn "Lead Kindly Light", King George V sprinkled soil from the battlefield at Ypres. (Six barrels of Ypres earth accompanied the Unknown Soldier home to England so that his coffin might lie on the soil where so many of his comrades had lost their lives.
For seven days the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Great Britain lay under the watchful eye of a military guard while thousands of mourners passed by to leave their last respects. On November 18 a temporary stone sealed the grave, inscribed with the words:
"A British Warrior Who Fell in the Great War 1914-1918 for King and Country. Greater Love Hath No Man Than This."