Cenotaph, London

Two great and cruel wars have been recorded in the history of the world - the First and Second World Wars. Many people, some of whom were British subjects, died in them. For this reason, a sobering monument to those who died in them was erected in London in their honor - the so-called cenotaph. Translated, it means an empty tomb. The purpose of erecting the cenotaph was to build a monument to end the war.
The proposal was put forward by Edwin Lutyens and David Lloyd's government welcomed it. Lutyens authored many war-related monuments and also war memorials. However, the cenotaph raised his reputation and he became a respected and outside the bounds of his profession architect of his time.
The church insisted that the monument be in the shape of a cross, but since the dead were only Christians, it kept the cenotaph religiously unencumbered. The only decorations on it are the wreaths and flags of the infantry, merchant navy and air force. The cenotaph was officially completed and opened by King George V in 1920. It is made of yellowish limestone and ends with a stone coffin. Every year, a two-minute silence ceremony is held at the cenotaph in memory of the war dead.