The inscription at the base of the Cenotaph reads: They died that we might live.The Cenotaph was built in memory of the 124 British soldiers born or resident in Singapore who gave their lives in World War I (1914–1918), with a second dedication (but no names) added in remembrance of those who died in World War II (1939–1945).

[1] The foundation stone was laid by Sir Lawrence Nunns Guillemard, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, on 15 November 1920.

Against the backdrop of the sea then fronting Queen Elizabeth Walk, Governor Guillemard awarded medals of courage to those who had served in the war.

On 28 December 2010, The Cenotaph was gazetted by Preservation of Monuments Board as a National Monument along with Lim Bo Seng Memorial and Tan Kim Seng Fountain at the Esplanade Park and the Singapore Conference Hall along Shenton Way.

[4] On 26 August 2013, a district court ordered Khalid to pay S$208 for the cost of repairs in addition to sentencing him to three months' jail and three strokes of the cane.