17cm (6.5in) x 17.5cm (7in) x 10.5cm (4in)
Wooden collection box in the form of the model of the temporary cenotaph which stood in Whitehall from 18 July 1919 to February 1920, and from which boxes of this type are believed to have been made. Applied with transfers.
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The temporary cenotaph (or ‘empty tomb’ in Greek) was built by the Office of Works under the direction of the Principal Architect Sir Frank Baines, with staff working continuously day and night for five days, at the request of Prime Minister David Lloyd George. At its unveiling it immediately won the hearts of the public and was covered the memorial in wreaths to the dead and the missing from the Great War. It was replaced by Sir Edwin Lutyens’ permanent Cenotaph in 1920. It is thought the wooden cenotaph collection boxes were made at St. Dunstan’s Hostel for Blind Soldiers and Sailors to a standard pattern. Each bear three transfers: a clock face showing the hands at eleven o'clock (the precise moment when the 1918 Armistice came into effect); three flags, left to right, the Blue Ensign, the Union Jack and the White Ensign; and the wording 'THE CENOTAPH / IN MEMORY OF / OUR GLORIOUS DEAD'. The order of flags on the collection boxes replicates the exact arrangement on the temporary cenotaph. This order was changed for the permanent memorial - left to right (viewed from the Richmond Terrace)- the White Ensign, Union Jack and the Blue Ensign. It is likely that the boxes were produced between 1919 and 1923.