The Cenotaph

The Cenotaph stands in the middle of Whitehall in central London, designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens and serving as the principal national war memorial of the United Kingdom. Lutyens's design was first built as a temporary structure of wood and plaster for the Allied victory parade held in July 1919, but public reaction to the simple, unadorned monument was strong enough that a permanent version in Portland stone, matching the original design closely, was constructed and unveiled in 1920. The word cenotaph derives from Greek and means empty tomb, reflecting the monument's purpose of commemorating the war dead as a group rather than marking any individual burial, and its subtly tapered, entasis-curved surfaces, though appearing straight to the eye, were calculated using classical architectural principles Lutyens adapted from ancient Greek temple design. The Cenotaph remains the focus of the United Kingdom's annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony each November, when the reigning monarch and senior political and military leaders lay wreaths at its base.