The Cenotaph The Cenotaph A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere.
The word is made from the Greek words kenos, meaning "empty" and taphos, "tomb".
Probably the best-known cenotaph in the modern world is the one that stands in Whitehall, London. 
It was made from Portland stone between 1919-1920. It replaced an identical wood and plaster cenotaph erected in 1919 for the Allied Victory Parade.
It is undecorated save for a carved wreath on each end and the words "The Glorious Dead". It is flanked on each side by the flags of the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy, the British Army, the Royal Air Force and the Merchant Navy.
Uniformed service personnel always salute the Cenotaph as they pass. It was, for example, very noticeably the only salute made by the Royal Horse Artillery driver of Diana, Princess of Wales's funeral carriage. On this occasion he did not salute even the Queen.
There are no horizontals or verticals on the monument. The horizontals are in slightly curved and the verticals meet at a vanishing point about 1000 feet above the ground.