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Many war memorials appeared in British towns and cities after the South African War of 1899-1902 (known popularly as the Boer War), but most were constructed after the First World War, known to contemporaries as the Great War (1914-19). These were updated after the Second World War (1939-45), usually by adding a plaque with the names of those killed in that conflict. Almost every town and village in Britain has a memorial erected after the Great War, the commonest types taking the form of a cross, an obelisk or a statue of a soldier. Some occupy a prominent public space; others stand in the local cemetery or can be found inside the local church. Memorials usually commemorate the inhabitants of a particular locality, the former pupils of a school, or the members of a military unit or branch of the armed forces. Other memorials, often bronze plaques placed indoors, commemorate the employees of a private company or public institution.

Remembrance Day in the UK takes place on 11th November, with the formal Act of Remembrance (usually a minute or two of silence) occurring at 11 o’ clock. This was the exact moment the First World War ended in 1918 – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The first and second anniversaries of the end of the First World War had a solemn rather than victorious atmosphere and focused on mourning the dead rather than celebrating victory. The Cenotaph quickly became the focus for events as crowds gathered to lay wreaths. Most of the memorials that commemorate the First World War were erected in the 1920s. Marking Remembrance Day declined in the post Second World War years as the conflicts became more distant. However as the 110th anniversary of the declaration of war in 1914 approached there has been a resurgence of participation.