The committee initially favoured a proposal for a memorial portico at the entrance to the village cemetery, which would contain tablets engraved with the names of the dead.

This proposal was shelved when a Mrs Dunn-Gardner from Fordham Abbey donated a five-acre plot of land in a central area of the village for use as a park and a setting for a war memorial, and the committee commissioned Lutyens to design a monument to fit the space.

[1] While many of Lutyens' commissions for war memorials originated from friends or former clients in the area, it does not appear that the architect had any prior connection to Fordham.

The upper section of the plinth contains the memorial's dedication: "OUR GLORIOUS DEAD" on the south side and the dates of the First World War in Roman numerals on the west and east.

The thieves were never caught and the community raised £4,750 for repair of the column and a replacement statue, made from fibreglass by artist Robert Donaldson based on photographs of the original.