The Cross of Sacrifice is a
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
designed in 1918 by Sir
Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
). It is present in Commonwealth
war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. Its shape is an elongated
Latin cross with proportions more typical of the
Celtic cross
upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol
The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
, with the shaft and crossarm octagonal in section. It ranges in height from . A
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
longsword, blade down, is affixed to the front of the cross (and sometimes to the back as well). It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. It may be freestanding or incorporated into other cemetery features. The Cross of Sacrifice is widely praised, widely imitated, and the archetypal British war memorial. It is the most imitated of Commonwealth war memorials, and duplicates and imitations have been used around the world.
Development and design of the cross
The Imperial War Graves Commission
The
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
introduced killing on such a mass scale that few nations were prepared to cope with it. Millions of bodies were never recovered, or were recovered long after any identification could be made. Hundreds of thousands of bodies were buried on the battlefield where they lay. It was often impossible to dig trenches without unearthing remains, and artillery barrages often uncovered bodies and flung the disintegrating corpses into the air. Many bodies were buried in French municipal cemeteries, but these rapidly filled to capacity. Due to the costs and sheer number of remains involved,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and the United Kingdom barred repatriation of remains.
Fabian Ware, a director of the
Rio Tinto mining company, toured some battlefields in as part of a
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...
mission in the fall of 1914. Ware was greatly disturbed by status of British war graves, many of which were marked by deteriorating wooden crosses, haphazardly placed and with names and other identifying information written nearly illegibly in pencil. Ware petitioned the British government to establish an official agency to oversee the locating, recording, and marking of British war dead, and to acquire land for cemeteries. The
Imperial War Office agreed, and created the
Graves Registration Commission in March 1915. In May, the Graves Registration Commission ceased to operate an ambulance service for the British Red Cross, and in September was made an official arm of the military after being attached to the
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
.
During its short existence, the Graves Registration Commission consolidated many British war dead cemeteries. Ware negotiated a treaty with the
French government
The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
whereby the French would purchase space for British war cemeteries, and the British government assumed the cost of
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ting, creating, and maintaining the sites. Over the next few months, the Graves Registration Commission closed British war dead cemeteries with fewer than 50 bodies, disinterred the bodies, and reinterred them at the new burying grounds. The Graves Registration Commission became the
Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries in February 1916.
As the war continued, there was a growing awareness in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
that a more permanent body needed be organized to care for British war graves after the war. In January 1916, the
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
appointed a
National Committee for the Care of Soldiers' Graves to take over this task.
Edward, Prince of Wales agreed to serve as the committee's president. The committee's membership reflected all members of the
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire
The B ...
(with a special representative from
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
). Over the next year, members of the National Committee for the Care of Soldiers' Graves began to feel that their organization was inadequate to the task, and that a more formal organization, with a broader mandate, should be created. The idea was broached at the first
Imperial War Conference in March 1917, and on 21 May 1917 the
Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) was chartered.
Lord Derby was named its chair, and the Prince of Wales its president.
Development of the war cemetery ideal

Prior to the First World War, the British (as well as continental European) tradition was to bury officers who died on the battlefield in individual graves and common soldiers in
mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...
s. The Great War changed this sentiment, as it was a
total war
Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all (including civilian-associated) resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilises all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare ov ...
, one in which nations engaged in the complete mobilization of all available resources, modes of production, and population in order to fight. Subsequently, as the war continued, there was a growing expectation among the people of the United Kingdom that foot soldiers as well as officers should not only be buried singly but commemorated. Many British families had already tried to visit the graves of loved ones, and could not locate them. Numerous letters appeared in newspapers decrying the problem, and Ware realized the British war effort was heading towards a public relations disaster. Ware, too, felt that the experience of war in the trenches was reducing socio-economic and class barriers. He firmly believed that British policy should be to treat all war dead alike, regardless of class or ability to pay. Wealthy families should not be able to repatriate their dead, inter remains privately in France, nor erect ornate memorials over their loved ones.
In July 1917, after consulting with architectural and artistic experts in London, Ware invited the architects
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
and
Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...
;
Charles Aitken, director of the
Tate Gallery; and the author
Sir James Barrie to tour British battlefield cemeteries near the front in an attempt to formulate broad ideas for the post-war design of these burying grounds. The trip began on 9 July. The group met formally on 14 July after the trip ended. Ware, Lutyens, and Baker agreed that every cemetery ought to obey a general theme (although the theme was not yet established), that there should only be four variations on the theme (monumental, garden or woodland, village, and town cemeteries), that grave markers should be uniform headstones (not crosses), and that cemetery walls should be horizontal. Aitken insisted on cemeteries of simple design and low cost, feeling public money should be spent on practical items like schools and hospitals. Baker wanted a cross at each cemetery, but Lutyens wanted a more abstract symbol. Aitken supported Baker in thinking that a cross was more appropriate in the French countryside. At one point, Baker suggested a cross with a pentagonal shaft (one side for each self-governing
dominion
A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
), and for Indian cemeteries a column topped by appropriate symbol (such as the
dharmacakra or
Star of India).
Ware, Lutyens, and Baker met for a second time to discuss cemetery planning at the IWGC headquarters in London on 21 September 1917. They were joined by
Arthur William Hill, then the assistant director of
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
. Both Baker and Lutyens presented draft designs for various types of cemeteries, but no agreement was reached on any design principles. After Ware informed him about the lack of unanimity among his advisors, the Prince of Wales advised Ware to keep news of any disagreements out of public view.
Frustrated by the lack of agreement among and hardening positions adopted by Lutyens, Baker, and Aitken, Ware turned to Sir
Frederic G. Kenyon, director of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and a highly respected ancient languages scholar. Kenyon not only had expertise in art and architecture, but he was imperturbable, systematic in his work methods, businesslike, and practical. He was also a
lieutenant colonel in the British Army and had served in France, and he and Ware agreed to emphasize his military rank as a way of keeping disputes in check. Kenyon's appointment was one of the first actions taken by the IWGC at its inaugural meeting on 20 November 1917. Aitken was released that same month. Ware asked Kenyon to help break the deadlock as quickly as possible. Over the next two months, Kenyon twice visited battlefield cemeteries in France and
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and consulted with a wide range of religious groups and artists. Kenyon agreed that Commonwealth military cemeteries should be uniform in order to emphasize their military character and the role the collective has over the individual in the armed forces. But he went a step further, and argued that the cemeteries should also be maintained in perpetuity by the British government, something never before attempted for large numbers of military graves. With Lutyens arguing for a "value free" and
pantheistic
Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...
Stone of Remembrance and Baker pushing for an elaborate and almost
Neoclassical approach, Kenyon advocated a compromise solution. His rationale was that some of the decisions made about the cemeteries would prove to be highly controversial, and something had to be done to win over public opinion. To do so, Kenyon pushed for a cross to be added to each site. Although costly (particularly in the smaller cemeteries), Kenyon argued that most families were
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and expected a cross, most families saw the cross as a sign of the sacrifice their loved ones made in death, and the addition of the cross would mollify the politically influential
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.
Lutyens argued for an obelisk rather than a cross. When he lost that argument, he argued that the cross should have a shortened cross-arm and a lengthened shaft, in order to emphasize its verticality amidst the trees of the French countryside. That argument was also unpersuasive.
Kenyon's report, ''War Graves: How the Cemeteries Abroad will be Designed'', was submitted to Ware in February 1918. The IWGC accepted them at its meeting on 18 February. With Baker and Lutyens, although good friends, at odds about how to design the cemeteries despite agreement on general themes, Kenyon recommended that only young architects, who served in the war, be hired as cemetery designers. A team of senior architects—which would include Lutyens, Baker, and one other—would oversee the designs. With minor additions, Kenyon's report was published in November 1918.
Appointment of Blomfield

After receiving the Kenyon report in February 1918, the following month Ware appointed Reginald Blomfield to be one of the senior architects overseeing the design of British war cemeteries. Blomfield was chosen on the recommendation of Kenyon. Blomfield was an expert in both British and French architecture, and had written extensively on garden planning. Blomfield was greatly experienced in serving on committees, commissions, and government advisory bodies, and Ware hoped that Blomfield would use his age, experience, and dominance in the field of architecture to help rein in Baker and Lutyens. Ware also hoped that Blomfield's amiable nature and firm hand would keep the disagreements between Baker and Lutyens from getting out of hand. Furthermore, Blomfield was a widely acknowledged expert in generating highly accurate cost estimates and in crafting excellent contracts. Blomfield was paid £400 per year in 1918, which was raised to £600 per year in 1919.
The same month he was appointed to the senior architects' committee, Blomfield accompanied Lutyens and Baker on a tour of French and Belgian battlefields.
Designing the Cross of Sacrifice
Kenyon, Baker, and Blomfield all submitted cross designs to the senior architects' committee. Kenyon submitted two draft designs, one for a
Celtic cross
upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol
The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
and one for a medieval Christian cross (both typically found in old English cemeteries). Baker, who had advocated the cemetery theme of "crusade" since July 1917, and according to Goebel was "obsessed" with the idea, submitted the design of a stone Christian cross with a bronze
longsword (called a
Crusader's sword by Baker) on the front. His design, which he called the "Ypres cross", also included a bronze image of a naval sailing ship, emblematic of the Royal Navy's role in winning both the Crusades and the First World War.
Blomfield, on the other hand, took a different approach to the cross. He rejected Kenyon's design, arguing that "runic monuments or gothic crosses had nothing to do with the grim terrors of the trenches." Blomfield wanted a design that reflected the war, which had stripped away any notions about glory in combat and nobility in death on the battlefield. "What I wanted to do in designing this Cross was to make it as abstract and impersonal as I could, to free it from any association of any particular style, and, above all, to keep clear of any sentimentalism of the Gothic. This was a man's war far too terrible for any fripperies, and I hoped to get within range of the infinite in this symbol..." His design featured an elongated cross of abstract design, on the front of which was a bronze longsword, blade pointed downward. It was intended to be an overtly Christian symbol, in contrast to Lutyen's Stone of Remembrance (which was purposely stripped of any such associations). Blomfield drew the inspiration for the sword from a sword which hung in his home in
Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
.
The senior architects' committee quickly endorsed the Blomfield design. The committee considered adding text to the base or steps of the cross, but rejected this idea.
In order to ensure that the architects' ideas for Commonwealth cemeteries worked well in the field, the IWGC decided to fund the construction of three experimental cemeteries
Le Tréport,
Forceville, and
Louvencourt. The goal was to determine how expensive the cemeteries were likely to be. The model cemeteries were designed by Baker, Lutyens, and Blomfield, and began construction in May 1918. Due to problems with construction, none were complete until early 1920, six months later than planned. Each model cemetery had a chapel and shelter, but no Stone of Remembrance or Cross of Sacrifice. Nevertheless, even without these major additions, the cemeteries were too expensive.
The model cemeteries experiment changed the way the Stone of Remembrance was placed in cemeteries, and almost changed the design of the Cross of Sacrifice itself. To reduce costs, Blomfield offered to design a wide variety of crosses, many of which were less costly than the original design, but the committee of senior architects rejected his offer. What became apparent with the experimental cemeteries was that a full-size cross or stone was appropriate only for the largest cemeteries. Mid-size and smaller cemeteries needed smaller memorials. Blomfield quickly designed two smaller-sized crosses to accommodate this need, but Lutyens refused to allow anything but a full-sized War Stone ( in length and in height) to be used. Subsequently, and partly as a cost-saving measure, no Stone of Remembrance was erected in a cemetery with fewer than 400 graves. Budgetary issues also led the committee to agree that shelters should be forgone in any cemetery with fewer than 200 graves.
The model cemeteries experiment also helped the architects decide where to place the Cross of Sacrifice. As early as 1917, Lutyens and Kenyon had agreed that the War Stone should be in the east, but facing west. (All graves were supposed to face east, facing the enemy, although many of the earliest cemeteries had graves facing in other
ometimes in many differentdirections.) The initial idea was to have the Cross of Sacrifice be in opposition to the War Stone. In practice, however, the placement of the Cross of Sacrifice varied widely.
The model cemeteries experiment also had one other effect, and that was to make Blomfield's design for the cross the only one ever used by the IWGC. The original intent of the senior architects had been to allow each junior architect to design his own cross for his own cemetery. But Blomfield's design proved so wildly popular that the decision was made to implement it as a standard feature in all cemeteries.
The formal adoption of Blomfield's Cross of Sacrifice, and the concepts regarding its placement, position, and use, were outlined by Kenyon in a report, ''A Memorandum on the Cross as Central Monument'', submitted in January 1919 as an addendum to his November 1918 main report.
About the Cross of Sacrifice

According to Fabian Ware, the name "Cross of Sacrifice" arose spontaneously from an unknown source, and attached itself to the cross.
The Cross of Sacrifice is carved from white stone. This is usually
Portland stone, but it is sometimes granite or any type of white limestone commonly found in France or Belgium. In Italy, Chiampo Perla limestone was used. The proportions of the cross, with short arms close to the top of the shaft are similar to some
Celtic cross
upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol
The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...
es, the crossarm being one-third the length of the shaft (as measured from the point where the shaft emerges from the base). The cross consists of three pieces: The shaft, from base to crossarm; the crossarm; and the upper shaft, above the crossarm. The crossarm is fastened to the lower and upper shaft by two bronze
dowel
The dowel is a cylindrical shape made of wood, plastic, or metal. In its original manufactured form, a dowel is long and called a ''dowel rod'', which are often cut into shorter ''dowel pins''. Dowels are commonly used as structural reinforceme ...
s. A joggle (a portion of the shaft which extends into the base, acting as a joint) about long extends into the base, where it is secured by another bronze dowel. The shaft and crossarm are both octagonal in shape, and the shaft tapers slightly as it rises to give the cross
entasis. On the large version, there are three plain mouldings on the shaft near the base, often reduced to one in smaller sizes, and the three extremities of the cross finish at a plain moulding projecting sideways from the main element. The crossarms are sometimes irregular octagons in section, with four wide faces at front, back, top and bottom, and four shorter faces in between them.
A stylized bronze longsword, point down, is fastened to the front of the cross. The cross is designed so that a second bronze sword may be fastened to the rear as well. The sword is positioned so that the
crossguard on the sword matches where the cross's shaft and crossarm meet.
The Cross of Sacrifice originally came in four heights: , , , and . Sizes up to are now permitted; exceptionally so too larger versions. As of 2012, the largest stands as the instance at the Halifax Memorial in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.

The shaft is fastened to an octagonal base. The size of the base varies, according to the height of the shaft, but the high cross has a base in diameter. This largest base weighs . The base usually sits on three octagonal steps. This can vary, however, depending on the height of the cross, its placement in the cemetery, and whether it is part of some other cemetery element.
The position of the Cross of Sacrifice in Commonwealth war cemeteries varies depending on a wide range of factors. Many cemeteries were laid out haphazardly during the war. The role of the junior designing architect was to determine the position of the Cross (and Stone of Remembrance) in relationship to the graves. Most cemeteries had two axes—a main axis and an entrance axis, or a main/entrance axis and a lateral axis. An overriding guiding principle was that the War Stone should be the focus of the cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice, however, usually functioned as the primary orienting feature of the cemetery for visitors, due to its height. In hilly areas, the architect had to ensure that the cross was visible from the road or path. (This was far less important in flat areas, obviously.) When a road passed directly by the cemetery, the cross usually was placed near the road and the entrance to the cemetery associated with the cross. These design considerations meant that the Cross of Sacrifice could be placed in a wide variety of places. Sometimes it was situated next to the War Stone, and sometimes in opposition to it. In some cases, the Cross of Sacrifice was placed in a distant corner of the cemetery, so that its relationship to the Stone of Remembrance was not clear.
It was not necessary for the Cross of Sacrifice to stand alone, either. In some cases, it was incorporated into a wall or benches. The placement of the Cross of Sacrifice affected other elements of the cemetery. The architect's choice of buildings to erect—double shelters, galleries, gateways, pergolas, sheltered alcoves, or single shelters—depended on the location of the War Stone, the Cross of Sacrifice, and the size of the cemetery.
A Cross of Sacrifice was erected in almost every Commonwealth war cemetery. Subsequent Commonwealth War Graves Commission policy has erected the cross Commonwealth war cemeteries with 40 or more graves. There were only a handful of exceptions. No cross was erected in cemeteries which held a majority of
Chinese or
Indian graves. In
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, no cross was erected in order to accommodate local
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
feelings. Instead, a simple
Latin cross was carved into a stone slab, which was placed at the rear of the cemetery. In
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
, a
cairn
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
was used in place of a cross to reflect the local custom. In the several Commonwealth cemeteries in the mountains of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Blomfield's design was replaced with a Latin cross made of rough square blocks of red or white stone.
It is unclear how much it cost to manufacture a Cross of Sacrifice. Generally speaking, however, the cost of building a cemetery was borne by each Commonwealth nation in proportion to number of their war dead in that cemetery.
While generally considered a beautiful design, the Cross of Sacrifice is not a robust one. The artwork is susceptible to toppling in high wind, as the shaft is held upright only by a long piece of stone and a single bronze dowel. Should the stone joggle or dowel break, the shaft topples. This problem quickly became apparent in Europe, where a large number of the crosses fell in high winds in the 1920s and 1930s. At one point, the Imperial War Graves Commission considered suing Blomfield for under-designing the artwork, but no lawsuit was ever filed.
Vandalism has also been a problem. Crosses of Sacrifice have been smashed or the bronze swords stolen, with the vandalism being particularly bad in the 1970s.
Assessment
The Cross of Sacrifice is considered one of the great pieces of war-related art. Its enduring popularity, historian
Allen Frantzen says, is because it is both simple and expressive, its abstraction reflecting the modernity people valued after the war. Fabian Ware argued that its greatness was because its symbolism is so purposefully vague: To some, it is a Christian cross; to others, the stone is irrelevant and the sword itself is the cross; and to others, the artwork symbolizes those who sacrificed their lives to the sword. The theme of sacrifice is commonly seen in the piece. Jeroen Geurst points out that Lutyens's War Stone unsettlingly brings to mind images of soldiers sacrificed on the altar of war, while Blomfield's cross speaks about self-sacrifice and the saving grace of Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
The sword has drawn praise as well. Frantzen notes that the inverted sword is a common chivalrous emblem which can be seen as both an offensive and a defensive weapon, symbolizing might wielded in defence of the values of the cross; it here embodies "the ideals of simplicity and expressive functionalism". Historian Mark Sheftall agrees that the sword evokes chivalric themes, and argues that by combining the religious and the chivalric with the classical Blomfield created "a single powerful image". But the military element has also been criticized. Geurst argues that one may interpret the sword as implying that the Great War was a religious crusade—which it most certainly was not.
The impact of the Cross of Sacrifice on war memorialization is difficult to overestimate. The IWGC considered the artwork a "mark of the symbolism of the present crusade". Cemetery historian Ken Worpole argues that the Cross of Sacrifice "became one of the most resonant and distinctive artefacts in British and Commonwealth war cemeteries, following the end of World War One." First World War historian
Bruce Scates observes that its symbolism was effective throughout the Commonwealth, despite widely disparate cultural and religious norms. Historians agree it is the most widely imitated of Commonwealth war memorials, and Sheftall concludes that it has become the archetypal example of Great War commemoration in Britain.
Artistically, the Cross of Sacrifice has been called "
aditional but austere, even stark".
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
, literary advisor to the IWGC, described it as a "stark sword brooding on the bosom of the Cross". This wording appeared in Kipling's poem "
The King's Pilgrimage".
Notable installations
By 1937, more than 1,000 of Blomfield's crosses had been erected in France and Belgium. During and after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, more than 12,000 new war grave sites were created in the United Kingdom. Of these, however, only 416 received a Cross of Sacrifice. Two crosses were erected at
Brookwood Military Cemetery in London, due to its unique layout. The first Cross of Sacrifice to be erected after the Second World War was in the cemetery at
Great Bircham,
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, in the United Kingdom by
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...
in July 1946. The first post-WWII cross erected over a war graves cemetery was at
Chouain in the summer of 1948.
United Kingdom
One of the first examples to be erected was in St Mary's churchyard in Blomfield's home town of Rye, East Sussex. The construction of the cross is understood to have been supervised by Blomfield himself free of charge and it was unveiled on 19 October 1919.
Duplicates of the Cross of Sacrifice were erected in many places in the United Kingdom, including: Glanadda Cemetery, Bangor, North Wales;
Cathays Cemetery,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
; Peel Green Cemetery,
Salford, Greater Manchester
Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
; Leigh Cemetery,
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
, Greater Manchester; Hale Cemetery,
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...
Greater Manchester; St Lawrence Cemetery,
Stratford-sub-Castle,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
; Eastwood New Cemetery,
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
; Rutherglen Cemetery,
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
; Cardonald Cemetery,
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
;
Cathcart Cemetery, Glasgow;
Craigton Cemetery, Glasgow; Eastern Necropolis, Glasgow;
Western Necropolis
Western Necropolis is a cemetery complex in Glasgow, Scotland located to the north of the city centre. As well as the actual Western Necropolis cemetery established in 1882, it is bordered by Lambhill Cemetery which opened in 1881, St Kentigern's ...
, Glasgow; Sandymount Cemetery, Glasgow; Rosebank Cemetery,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
; Cannock Chase Cemetery,
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
; Milltown Cemetery,
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
; and
Lerwick
Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom.
Centred ...
Cemetery,
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
.

Some of the memorials are
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
, such as the cross at St. Johns Cemetery,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
,
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. Most of the memorials have the following inscription on the base:
United States

There is a Cross of Sacrifice at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
,
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
. It was proposed in 1925 by
Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
to honour the Americans who joined the Canadian armed forces fighting in Europe. On 12 June 1925, President
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...
approved the request, and the monument dedicated on
Armistice Day
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...
1927. Attending the ceremony was a
guard of honour
A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
of more than 200 Canadian soldiers, comprising contingents from
The Royal Canadian Regiment
The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked first in the order of precedence amongst Canad ...
, the
Royal 22nd Regiment
The Royal 22nd Regiment (R22R; ) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Known colloquially in English as the Van Doos (representing an anglicized pronunciation of the French number twenty-two, ) or in French as , the mostly francophone re ...
, the
pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common.
The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, ...
of the
48th Highlanders of Canada
The 48th Highlanders of Canada is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve infantry regiment based in Toronto, Ontario, parading out of Moss Park Armoury. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.
Regimental Badge
...
and trumpeters from the
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and
The Royal Canadian Dragoons. The United States Army was represented by a guard from the
12th Infantry Regiment and buglers from the
3rd Cavalry Regiment. President Coolidge was in attendance and an address was given by
Dwight F. Davis, the
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
.
The inscription on the high gray granite cross is to "Citizens of the United States who served in the Canadian Army and gave their lives in the Great War". After the Second World War and the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, similar inscriptions on other faces of the monument were dedicated to the Americans who served in those conflicts.
A Cross of Sacrifice stands in
Oakwood Cemetery in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
and is the largest Commonwealth War Grave site in the United States. 78 members of the RAF are buried here, the majority having died from training accidents during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In early 1941, the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
agreed to train British and Commonwealth pilots at the
Southeast Air Corps Training Center headquartered at
Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...
.
Elsewhere
A Cross of Sacrifice has been erected in a number of cemeteries and other places which are not Commonwealth war cemeteries. Some of the more notable examples include:
*
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Australia – A Cross of Sacrifice was erected in the Cross of Sacrifice Memorial Gardens. It is dedicated "to the men who gave their lives in the Great War 1914–1920", and is a tribute from the women of South Australia. The gardens form part of the Peace Park which also incorporates the Prince Henry Gardens, Ester Lipman Gardens, and the Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens.
*
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland – A Cross of Sacrifice was unveiled in
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum.
Location
The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...
in Dublin on 31 July 2014 to commemorate the thousands of Irish soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars. The unveiling of the artwork, the first Cross of Sacrifice erected on Irish soil, was witnessed by
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
Michael D. Higgins and
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George ...
. The project was a joint effort by the Glasnevin Trust and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
*
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
– The
Gibraltar Cross of Sacrifice was erected in 1922. It was the focus of the territory's
Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
ceremonies until 2009, when the event was moved to the
Gibraltar War Memorial.
Gallery
File:StateLibQld 2 254824 Official unveiling of the Cross of Sacrifice on Anzac Day at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane, 1924.jpg, Unveiling ceremony, Anzac Day 1924, Toowong Cemetery
Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...
, Brisbane, Australia
File:Canadian Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir places a wreath on the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice - Arlington National Cemetery - 1937-03-31.jpg, Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist Party (Scotland), Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the List of governo ...
laying a wreath at the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice in 1937
File:Photograph of Field Marshal Harold Alexander laying a wreath at a Canadian monument to World War I veterans in... - NARA - 199506.jpg, Field Marshal Harold Alexander laying a wreath at the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice in 1947
File:Hunters Cemetery.jpg, Schoolchildren paying their respects at Hunters Cemetery, Newfoundland Park, Beaumont Hamel
File:Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery (September 2010) 5.JPG, English inscription on the Anglo-French Cross of Sacrifice at the Thiepval Memorial
File:US Navy 060425-N-9851B-009 Representative of the Australian Defense Force, Major General David Morrison salutes a cross after laying a wreath.jpg, Major General David Morrison saluting at a Cross of Sacrifice at Yokohama War Cemetery, on Anzac Day 2006
File:Bhawanipur Cemetery 5.jpg, Cross of Sacrifice at Bhawanipur Cemetery, Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
File:Cross of Sacrifice, Western Necropolis, Glasgow.jpg, Cross of Sacrifice in Western Necropolis
Western Necropolis is a cemetery complex in Glasgow, Scotland located to the north of the city centre. As well as the actual Western Necropolis cemetery established in 1882, it is bordered by Lambhill Cemetery which opened in 1881, St Kentigern's ...
, Glasgow, Scotland.
See also
*
World War I memorials
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
{{commons
Commonwealth War Graves CommissionThe War Graves Photographic Project
Arlington National Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Monumental crosses
World War I memorials
Herbert Baker buildings and structures