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The Cenotaph is a grade I listed building and forms part of a national collection of Lutyens's war memorials. Dozens of replicas were built in Britain and other Commonwealth countries. While there was no set or agreed standard for First World War memorials, the Cenotaph proved to be one of the most influential models for such structures.
The Cenotaph – or ‘empty tomb’ in Greek – has been the focus of our nation’s remembrance for a century. Initially a temporary monument designed by Edwin Lutyens in 1919, the Cenotaph in Whitehall was replaced with the permanent Portland stone memorial and unveiled on Armistice Day, 11 November 1920.
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere.
The Cenotaph in Whitehall is Britain’s chief national war memorial to the dead of the First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts. Taking its name from the Greek words meaning ‘empty tomb’, it is the focus of national ceremonies of remembrance, held annually since 1919.
Since 1919, the Cenotaph has become the central focus for national commemoration, most notably during the National Service of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday. Its meaning has developed and the Cenotaph now memorialises those who have given their lives in all conflicts since the First World War.
Aug 3, 2024 · Cenotaph, (from Greek kenotaphion, “empty tomb”), monument, sometimes in the form of a tomb, to a person who is buried elsewhere. Greek writings indicate that the ancients erected many cenotaphs, including one raised by the Athenians to the poet Euripides, though none of these survive.
The Cenotaph - which literally means Empty Tomb in Greek - was initially a wood and plaster construction intended for the first anniversary of the Armistice in 1919. At its unveiling the base...
Standing serenely amid the bustling traffic on Whitehall in Westminster, London, the Cenotaph – or ‘empty tomb’ in Greek – has served as a symbol of remembrance, commemorating those who served or lost their lives in times of conflict, for a century.
Nov 11, 2011 · The Cenotaph, London. In a new BBC History Magazine book 100 Places that Made Britain, David Musgrove asked historians to nominate key sites in Britain's story.
Nov 11, 2022 · The Cenotaph is the national war memorial, standing on Whitehall in London, close to the junction with Downing Street. The word 'cenotaph' derives from the Greek 'kenos taphos', meaning 'empty tomb'. Its unveiling took place on the second anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I on 11 November 1918.
