London - The Cenotaph, Whitehall - Heskett postcard c. 1920s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  The Cenotaph, Whitehall, London
• Publisher:  H. Heskett, London EC4
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Cenotaph is a war memorial located in Whitehall, London. It began as a temporary structure erected for a peace parade following the end of World War I, but following an outpouring of national sentiment it was replaced by a permanent structure and designated the United Kingdom's official war memorial. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the permanent structure was built from Portland stone between 1919 and 1920 by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts, replacing Lutyens' earlier, temporary wood-and-plaster cenotaph in the same location. An annual National Service of Remembrance is held at the site on Remembrance Sunday, the closest Sunday to 11 November (Armistice Day) each year. Lutyens' cenotaph design has been reproduced elsewhere in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Bermuda and Hong Kong.

The Cenotaph was originally a wood-and-plaster structure designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and erected in 1919.^[1] It was one of a number of temporary structures erected for the London Victory Parade (also called the Peace Day Parade) on 19 July 1919 that marked the formal end of the First World War that had taken place with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.^[2][3] As one of a series of temporary wooden monuments constructed along the route of the parade, it was not proposed until just two weeks prior to the event. Following deliberations of the Peace Celebrations Committee, Lutyens was invited to Downing Street. There, the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George proposed that the monument should be a catafalque, like the one intended for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for the corresponding Victory Parade in France, but Lutyens proposed instead that the design be based on a cenotaph.^[4]

The temporary wood-and-plaster structure had the same shape as the later permanent stone structure, and consisted of a pylon that rose in a series of set-backs to the empty tomb (cenotaph) on its summit. The wreaths at each end and on top were made from laurel rather than the later carved stone sculptures. The location chosen along the parade route along Whitehall was between the Foreign Office and Richmond House. The unveiling (described in The Times as 'quiet' and 'unofficial') took place the day before the Victory Parade. During the parade itself, those saluting the temporary Cenotaph included the Allied commanders John Pershing, Ferdinand Foch, Douglas Haig and David Beatty. For some time after the parade, the base of the memorial was covered with flowers and wreaths by members of the public. Pressure mounted to retain it, and the British War Cabinet decided on 30 July 1919 that a permanent memorial should replace the wooden version and be designated Britain's official national war memorial.^[3] The announcement was made on 23 October 1919 that the Portland stone version would be a ""replica exact in every detail in permanent material of present temporary structure"".

Lutyens' design being in the form of a cenotaph may have been inspired by his familiarity with a structure (the ""Cenotaph of Sigismunda"") in Gertrude Jekyll's garden.^[4] It was constructed from Portland stone between 1919 and 1920 by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts.^[2][6]

It was undecorated apart from a carved wreath on each end and a smaller carved wreath on top. The words ""The Glorious Dead"" are inscribed twice, once below the wreaths on each end. Above the wreaths at each end are inscribed the dates of the First World War in Roman numerals (1914 - MCMXIV; and 1919 - MCMXIX). The wreaths at each end are 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter, while the one on top is 3.6 feet (1.1 m) in diameter.^[5]

The sides of the Cenotaph are not parallel, but if extended would meet at a point some 980 feet (300 m) above the ground. Similarly, the ""horizontal"" surfaces are in fact sections of a sphere whose centre would be 900 feet (270 m) below ground.^[7] It is 35 feet (11 m) high and weighs 120 tonnes (120,000 kg)s.^[5] This element of the design, called entasis, was not present in the temporary structure and was added by Lutyens as a refinement when designing the permanent structure.^[4]

The architects waived their fee for designing the cenotaph, meaning that it cost £7,325 to build, a sum equivalent to £255,332 when adjusted by inflation in 2010.^[5][8] Construction began on 19 January 1920, with the original flags sent to the Imperial War Museum.^[5]

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=london

number of items=single

period=inter-war (1918 - 1939)

postage condition=unposted