The incredible story of The Unknown Warrior is coming to the Fire Station in Sunderland

Author John Nichol's latest book is called The Unknown Warrior, which is also the name of his show on Tuesday, November 5.

John, originally from the North East, is a former RAF pilot who gained international attention in 1991 when his Tornado bomber was shot down during a Gulf War mission over Iraq. He was captured, tortured, held as a prisoner of war and paraded on television.

He is now a successful author and The Unknown Warrior is the latest of his books to enter the Sunday Times bestseller list. The show is a live story of the book.

The show centres around The Unknown Warrior (not the Unknown "Soldier"; the warrior may have been in the air force), who lies in Westminster Abbey.

The idea had been put forward for one of the half-million or so young men who lay in graves in France and Belgium after World War One in unmarked graves.

In 1920 it was ordered that the remains of one unknown warrior from each of the four great WWI battles: the Somme, Arras, Ypres and Aisne, should be recovered and one of them selected at random.

When this was done the chosen warrior was taken to London (the other three were reburied). The Unknown Warrior was given a state funeral on November 11, 1920 and interred in the abbey where he rests to this day.

Tens of thousands of people filed past the coffin; keen to see what could have been their son, father, brother or friend. The event was filmed and seen by millions of people around the world.

John told the Echo: "I'd seen the tomb countless times when I'd been in Westminster Abbey, but I'd never really paused to read the full inscription.

"That made me think 'I know nothing about this story. I really should know more.' The subtitle of the book is 'A personal journey of discovery and remembrance.'

"I set off to find out what had happened and went back to the battlefields at the Somme as an example to find out what the troops went through. Then I followed the story of the Unknown Warrior from the Somme to Westminster Abbey in 1920.

"To help me understand what it was like for the troops back then, I found people who have done similar jobs.

"For instance the padre who conceived the idea of the tomb of the Unknown Warrior was a battlefield padre who was ministering to the wounded and comforting the men, collecting the dead and wounded from the battlefield and burying them.

"I found a padre from the Falkland Islands who had done the same thing. I brought it up to date by finding people who had done similar jobs in this era."

John also contacted Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew "Vern" Stokes, of the Coldstream Guards, who was in charge of recent royal funerals and the coronation and was the best person to speak to about the Unknown Warrior's funeral 104 years ago.

Speaking about the live show, John said: "It's a one-man show but its put to video and music and recreations. We've got things like recreation of the letters in the book, recreations of a battle scene.

"It's bringing the story to life. It's an enlightening story and an entertaining show."

Tickets for John Nichol: The Unknown Warrior are £26 to £30 from the Fire Station's website.