the Cenotaph

The Cenotaph on Whitehall is the United Kingdom’s principal national war memorial for those killed in the two world wars and later conflicts. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it stands on Whitehall in central London and serves as the focal point for national remembrance ceremonies.

The monument is the site of the annual National Service of Remembrance, held on Remembrance Sunday each November, and of official wreath-laying by members of the Royal Family, government and armed forces on that day and on Armistice Day, 11 November. It is a formal, public space used for state and civic acts of remembrance.

The original temporary cenotaph was erected in 1919 for the first anniversary of the end of the First World War; the permanent stone monument by Lutyens followed and was unveiled in the immediate postwar period. Inscriptions on the monument were later extended to commemorate the dead of the Second World War.

The Cenotaph stands on Whitehall in central London, immediately north of Parliament Square and close to Horse Guards Parade, forming a central element of the city’s ceremonial axis and government quarter.

• National ceremonies: The national moments of remembrance are held here each year, with the main service on Remembrance Sunday in November and wreath-laying on Armistice Day, 11 November.
• Design and inscriptions: Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial dates to the immediate post-First World War period and bears inscriptions commemorating the dead of both World Wars.