ABSTRACT

In February 1916 Professor S.D. Adshead described the function of the war memorial as neither the celebration of victory, nor the commemoration of peace, but as ‘prophetic and inspiring, as well as retrospective; if it is both it will be sublime’ (Bushaway, 1993: 143). The First World War memorial symbolized the glorification of the sacrifice of man for his country, with the emphasis placed firmly on the individual, the British hero. By the start of the Second World War, collective stoicism and determination had replaced the idealized conception of honour through death.