Parliamentary War Memorial

A parliamentary committee chose a site below a large gothic window in St Stephen's Porch, at the south end of Westminster Hall.

[1] A design by Australian sculptor Bertram Mackennal (1863–1931) was chosen, modifying an existing Victorian screen by adding the elements that now form the central section of the memorial: a winged figure representing the recording angel, flanked by two arched panels bearing names of the fallen.

Mackennal's design also include a cupola above, with a Gothic arch and bronze statuettes of the patron saints of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

[2] Modifications were made in 1922, removing the mullions from the flanking sections of the Victorian screen to insert six further panels, three on either side, to record the names of the sons of MPs and officers of the House of Commons killed in the war.

[3] Early on 27 September 1940, a bomb fell in Old Palace Yard, blowing a hole in the window above the memorial, originally designed by Augustus Pugin.