Template:POTD/2023-11-11
The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled on 11 November 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War. It was rededicated in 1946 to also commemorate those who had fallen in the Second World War, and has since come to represent British casualties from later conflicts. The word cenotaph is derived from Greek, meaning 'empty tomb'; the monument symbolises the absence of the dead and is a focal point for public mourning. The original temporary Cenotaph was erected in 1919 for a parade celebrating the end of the First World War; calls for it to be rebuilt in permanent form began almost immediately. The permanent Cenotaph was unveiled by George V on 11 November 1920 in a ceremony combined with the repatriation of the Unknown Warrior. The National Service of Remembrance is held annually at the site on Remembrance Sunday. This sketch by Lutyens of the Cenotaph's front and end elevations was published in The Illustrated London News two days after it was unveiled.Sketch credit: Edwin Lutyens; restored by Adam Cuerden