Monuments aux Morts

[1] In the aftermath of what had proved to be such a bloody conflict, with France losing some 1,327,000 men, there was a need to come to terms with the loss of so many and in particular there was a need to create a focal point where people could remember their lost ones.

In France the monument aux morts was to be that focal point; a place that would possibly fill the void which the war had left for so many.

In many cases the monument took the form of a simple obelisk, often surmounted by a gallic rooster or a Croix de Guerre and perhaps embellished with a laurel, or some other symbol.

What sculptors tried to represent in many of the monument aux morts was the great feeling of loss and grief felt throughout France and thus representations and allegories of weeping women, grieving widows, mothers and children were often seen and many of these are quite beautiful.

For the most part it was left to the initiatives of town halls and ex-soldiers associations to raise funds, mostly by public subscription although there was provision in the law passed on 25 October 1919 for a contribution to be made by the State.

It was the concept of the "Livre d’Or" that was established; that the names of the combatants in the Army and Navy who served under the flag and had died for France in the course of the 1914–1918 war should be inscribed in registers lodged in the Panthéon.

This embraced not only those killed who had served in the forces but also the names would also be included of those who died as a result of violence committed by the enemy whether in the course of exercising their public duties or in fulfilling their obligations as citizens.

One fact which emerges from a study of the monument aux morts of the Somme is that for the most part they avoid any expression of triumphalism but adopt a sombre and reflective tone with a marked concentration on the portrayal of grief.