Cross of Sacrifice

The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is the focal point of the numerous cemetaries honoring the war dead of World War I that dot the countryside of the Western Front, and as far afield as Kranji, Singapore [1]. It is a 4 point limestone Latin cross. On the face of the cross is a bronze sword, blade down. It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. Originally they were produced in sizes of 14, 18, 20 and 24 foot heights to better fit different size memorials without overpowering them. File links The following pages link to this file: Christian cross Commonwealth War Graves Commission War memorial Categories: GFDL images ... File links The following pages link to this file: Christian cross Commonwealth War Graves Commission War memorial Categories: GFDL images ... Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856–27 December 1942) was a British architect, garden designer and author. ... The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is a joint governmental organisation responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of members of the Commonwealth military forces who died in the two world wars and subsequent wars, to build memorials to those with no known grave, and to keep records of the war... World War I was a basically European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns and poison gas. ... See Western Front (disambiguation) for other meanings. ... The traditional form of the Christian cross, known as the Latin cross The Christian cross is a familiar religious symbol of most Christianity. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... A sword (from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swerd lit. ... An octagon is a polygon that has eight sides. ...

The Cross of Sacrifice can be seen in many War Cemeteries and war memorials throughout the British Empire, and the locations of many battles outside the British Empire, including Canada, Italy, France and Belgium. A war grave is a place where war dead are buried. ... This memorial in England lists the names of soldiers who died in the First World War. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

On some, particularly those found in Britain, names of deceased soldiers are inscribed on the octagonal base of the monument.

External link

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission