The stones are separated by a narrow gap and support between them a thick bronze medallion or tondo sculpted with reliefs that echo the memorial's theme of "duty and service", depicting members of the armed forces on one side and civilian workers on the other.

The blocks were rough cut and then dry built round a stainless steel frame to allow the edges to be pitched by hand to match the artist's requirements.

On Remembrance Sunday 2014, it was announced that Lord Stirrup, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, would lead the efforts to raise one million pounds to enable a national memorial to the British service personnel who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to be erected in central London.

[4] By March 2015 Stirrup was confident that the full amount needed could be raised[5] and by July 2016 work had begun on the memorial in the Victoria Embankment Gardens.

[2][3] The unveiling ceremony was preceded by a drumhead service at Horse Guards Parade led by the Chaplain of the Fleet, the Venerable Ian Wheatley.