Temporary Cenotaphs

[Kate Wills]

The following query came to me via the Northamptonshire Association for Local History from the Maidenhead Heritage Centre. I seem to recall a photograph of a wooden structure (resembling Lutyens timeless edifice) near the Central Library in Abington Street, Northampton. Can fellow members give Brian more information? Were others constructed, in addition to the ones the IWM have identified?

"I am researching the history of a temporary small scale copy of the

Whitehall Cenotaph which was erected in Maidenhead for a march past on

"Recognition Day" 28 August 1919. I understand from the Imperial War

Museum that similar structures were erected in Letchworth and Northampton.

I would like to know the event for which they were erected and how long

they lasted. That in Maidenhead survived for 18 months until the official

war memorial was built."

Brian Boulter

Tel:01628-418555

Email:Bboulter@tesco.net

[Terry_Reeves]

Kate there was one in Coventry as well, of which I have a photograph. I'll contact Brian directly.

Terry Reeves

[Guest Hill 60]

Kate - There was a temporary memorial, but I don't know if it was a Cenotaph, at Whitehall. This is mentioned on page 122 (along with a photo of the Northampton one) of At the Going Down of the Sun: British First World War Memorials by Derek Boorman.

[Kate Wills]

My apologies to the good folk of Maidenhead for my somewhat drunken spelling of their fair town's name. This is because I have a head full of cold at de doment, and NOT due to alcoholic excess. However, for any fellow sufferers seeking a potion, may I recommend Benedictine with brandy (it comes ready-mixed, though I daresay you can improvise!!).

Thankyou Terry and Lee. This confirms my own suspicions that Temporary Cenotaphs were more abundant than the isolated threesome identified in my mistyped title. Any more offers...?

[Kate Wills]

Lee, the photo in Boorman's book is the one I recall seeing in the local press, and just behind the wooden cenotaph is the Co-op, which is next door to the Library. Boorman states "this use of temporary memorials was common and in 1919 this was the case even in Whitehall".

[Kate Wills]

A fellow WFA member in Wellingborough tells me there was a temporary cenotaph there too.

[andigger]

Why erect a temporary memorial? It would seem the time and energy placed into erecting a more permenant structure would be more valuable and appreciated.

Andy

[Desmond7]

Andy - remember that date we are talking about here .. 1919. The actual memorials had not been built at this time .. these were symbolic structures.

Des

[andigger]

Des- I was thinking that rather than building an immediate temporary memorial, the public might be accepting of the idea of putting the resources and energy into a more permenant marker to be completed in 1920,21,22.

I understand that the affect of the war was dramatic,a nd memorials help people reconcile with events. I am just thinking that there is a certain understanding that these things take time, and the public is willing to accept that.

Just a thought really...

Andy

[Clive Maier]

Lutyens’ first Whitehall cenotaph was a temporary structure of wood and plaster, erected in great haste for the Peace Day celebration on 19 July 1919. The idea seems to have come about when Lloyd George learned rather late in the day that the French celebration on 14 July would involve a march past a catafalque representing the war dead. The catafalque and the cenotaph were to have been dismantled after the ceremonies, and the story goes that public acclaim caused the cenotaph to be rebuilt as a permanent memorial in Portland stone. It is a romantic story and certainly approval of the austere and dignified form was almost universal. But I suspect Lloyd George and Lutyens were managing events. Lutyens was working on designs from the beginning of June if not earlier. His concept, although plain, was too elaborate to be wasted on a temporary stage set for a parade, and probably could not be reproduced accurately in wood and plaster. There are no true horizontal or vertical surfaces on the cenotaph. All the apparent horizontal planes are surfaces of concentric spheres centred 900 feet below ground. All the apparent verticals converge at a point more than 1000 feet above ground.

The first cenotaph had to be temporary; there was not enough time to build a permanent structure. But I suspect that Lloyd George and Lutyens had their eyes on a permanent structure almost from the outset. By engineering public demand, Lloyd George avoided all debate about the form of the monument and eliminated any aggravation about funding. Of course, that could not have happened if Lutyens had not produced a masterpiece. It is perhaps significant that the campaign for a permanent cenotaph was led off by the Times and questions in parliament.

So with temporary memorials receiving much publicity in Paris and London, it is perhaps not surprising that others emulated the idea. Don’t forget though, that a great many towns and villages already had temporary memorials in the shape of the war shrines that began to spring up in the streets from 1916. These tended to be representative of particular streets, neighbourhoods or churches rather than the town as a whole but even so, I think it is likely that the shrines would have been a focal point for remembrance until the permanent memorials went up.