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Remembrance
Introduction
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The
Cenotaph.....................cont

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It is overlooked by an enthroned statue of Queen Victoria, sceptre
in hand, on top of the Old Home Office Building, immediately opposite.
Its overall height is 35 feet, the base is 15' x 8'6 ", the top
is 11'6 x 6'6 ". The laurel wreaths at the ends are 5 feet in
diameter, the one at the top 3'6 ". All letters and Roman numerals
are approximately 5 " square. The accurate rendition in stone
of the design specification called for masonry skills of the highest
order. Lutyens declined his fee, Messrs Holland, Hannen and Cubitts
Ltd erected it at a cost of £7,325. [22] Unusually,
the cost of its erection was met by funds voted by Parliament. The
unveiling of the permanent structure by King George V on 11th November
1920 was combined with a ceremony to mark the passing of the body of
the Unknown Warrior for re-burial at Westminster Abbey. The first annual
ceremony took place at the Cenotaph on the same date the following
year. Since that time, the Cenotaph and the ceremony held there on
Remembrance Sunday has been the national focus for commemorating the
British People's war dead. [23] Some
idea of the power of this monument in the national consciousness may
be taken from the fact that, as at April 2002, 291 copies of this monument
had been erected all over the UK. Lutyens' Cenotaph went from being
a design, to becoming a convention. |
[22] PRO
file Works/20 8/5.
[23] PRO
file Works/20 1/4.
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