Model of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, 1925 (c)

Souvenir ceramic model, 1925 (c).

Model of the Cenotaph with a shield with Weymouth's coat of arms, a three-masted ship, above a scroll, inscribed 'Model of the Cenotaph erected in Whitehall London in Memory of the Fallen in the Great War 1914-1918' and 'Weymouth'.

To mark the formal ending of World War One (1914-1918) the British Government organised a national celebration called 'Peace Day' on 19 July 1919. The Cenotaph was built specially for this celebration and proved to be its most important legacy. Designed as a temporary structure by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the Cenotaph was a simple and secular monument, in the form of a catafalque (raised platform used to support a coffin or body). The name was the derived from the Greek for 'empty tomb' and the monument clearly alluded to the problems of the missing and un-repatriated war dead. Its function was to serve as a saluting point for the military parade which was the main event of the day. However, it proved to be overwhelmingly popular with the public as a focal point for mourning and remembrance. It swiftly established itself as Britain's national war memorial and calls quickly grew for it to be rebuilt in stone.