The memorial was unveiled by General Jan Smuts in 1921 and was the focus of pilgrimages from South Africa through the 1920s and 1930s, after which it was largely forgotten until the 1980s when the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took responsibility for its maintenance.

The committee commissioned Sir Edwin Lutyens, described by Historic England as "the leading English architect of his generation" to design the memorial, Lutyens having previously designed the Cenotaph on Whitehall which became the focus for the national Remembrance Sunday commemorations.

The apex of each face bears the head of a springbok, the national symbol of South Africa, in low relief.

The two architects had collaborated on several projects in South Africa and India, but ultimately fell out over an alteration to the design of New Delhi.

[2][3] The memorial was unveiled on 30 June 1921 and formally accepted by South African General Jan Smuts, who had previously laid the foundation stone, on behalf of the South African government in a ceremony officiated by the Bishop of St Albans.