The Cenotaph, Whitehall of Versailles on 28 June 1919. As one of a series of temporary wooden monuments constructed along the route of the parade, Whitehall's was not proposed until two weeks before the event. Following deliberations by the Peace Celebrations Committee, Lutyens was invited to Downing Street. There, the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, proposed that the monument should be a catafalque, like the one intended for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for the corresponding Victory Parade in France, but Lutyens proposed instead that the design be based on a cenotaph. The temporary wood-and-plaster structure had the same shape as
The Cenotaph, Durban monument. The Cenotaph is set in a small garden walled in stone with memorial plaques and closed off from the street by a fence. The entrance to the garden, and the view of the front of the memorial, is guarded by a remarkable pair of large snarling Art Deco lions on high plinths. The ceramic decoration, with its clear lines, strong colours and sunburst, is in the same style, of which Durban features many fine examples. The neoclassical and Art Deco elements work harmoniously together to make this one of the most striking and lavishly decorated memorials of its kind.