[1] It was unveiled by Colonel Sir Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore (1872–1962) on 7 November 1920.

[5] In the photograph to the right, red poppy wreaths around the Rainham War Memorial further commemorate the area's dead soldiers.

The residents of Rainham pay their respects by placing crosses and fresh poppy wreaths adjacent to the monument.

[6][7] One of the soldiers represented on the monument is Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis, a World War I flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories.

A native of Rainham, the nineteen-year-old engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27 and future head of the Luftwaffe.