Instead of carving them on the memorial, the names of the 1,338 dead from Southend are recorded on plaques fixed to the walls of Prittlewell Priory.

The memorial was unveiled on 27 November 1921 by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex and dedicated by the Bishop of Chelmsford in front of a large crowd.

Invited guests included the mayor, local clergy, veterans from the district, and organisations which had contributed to the war effort in the area.

Lutyens's memorials were declared a national collection in 2015 to commemorate the centenary of the war and Southend's was upgraded to grade II*.

[1] Lutyens established his reputation building country houses for wealthy clients around the turn of the twentieth century and later designed much of New Delhi, but the war had a profound effect on him.

[2] Immediately to the east is Shoeburyness, a garrison town and home to a military installation; to the north was an aerodrome (now Southend Airport), which became a naval air station.

Shortly after the declaration of war, the British government began the internment of German citizens and several hundred were held on three ships moored off the pier.

[1][8][9] Southend War Memorial consists of an obelisk surrounded on three sides by a screen wall, entirely in Portland stone.

The only sculptural features on the obelisk are two laurel wreaths on the north and south faces of the middle stage of the pedestal.

Later plaques are affixed—one to the base (above the lowest inscription), noting the recording of the names in the priory, and one from the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women on the screen wall.

[1][11][12] Southend-on-Sea War Memorial was unveiled by Amelius Lockwood, 1st Baron Lambourne, the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, at a ceremony on 27 November 1921.

Other invited guests included decorated veterans or (for the deceased) their next of kin, and representatives of the British Legion and the Naval and Military Club.

[8][10] The bishop praised the efforts of the dead and returned servicemen but lamented the widespread unemployment and unrest which followed the end of the war.

The statue was created by a local sculptor, Dave Taylor, who intended it to resemble a soldier on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

The overall design is similar to Lutyens's North Eastern Railway War Memorial in York, which also includes a screen wall.

[17] A local newspaper, the Essex Chronicle, called it a "fine memorial" and "a beautiful obelisk of Portland stone" in 1921,[10] and the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner praised the "remarkably subtly proportioned" base and pedestal.

[11] Historic England, in upgrading the memorial's listing, described it as "an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community" and "a simple yet elegant obelisk incorporating carved decoration and two heavily detailed, painted stone flags" and noted its importance as one of 58 memorials designed by Lutyens in the UK and abroad.