On the Cenotaph, and, I am sure, on other memorials, is inscribed "The Glorious Dead". I am curious as to how and where this expression originated. I read that one theory behind the Cenotaph inscription was to allow people to assign their own meaning to the memorial, which I suppose was because many of the WW1 dead were buried where they fell, rather than being repatriated. I also wondered if there might have been some political significance, due to the nature of a lot of recruitment advertising. What do others think?
Lutyens who designed many war cemeteries coined it as the “ empty tomb “ of the cenotaph needed a catch all inscription as there were no names inscribed .
Possibly Rudyard Kipling? I think he composed the phrase 'A Soldier of the Great War: Known Unto God' for the graves of unidentified soldiers.
In " Lutyens and The Great War " by Skelton & Gliddon it says on page 42 ... In The Times ... of 14 July had a sub-heading of 'The Glorious Dead' , which, apart from the dates of the two World Wars , is the only wording that appears on the Cenotaph and was supposedly suggested by Lloyd George. (I'm not saying I disagree with Adam in the post above , just quoting what a rather good book on Lutyens says.)
I think Binyon's the clincher. The poem puts the phrase into a completely different context than the usual explanation of 'glorifying war'.
My local village ToC H club had the Binyon peom/quote on a number of things. They were still a thriving social club in the 60s and 70s. As a kid I helped with beetle drives, teas, outings and such.
The exact expression aside, you can find the idea in Pericles' funeral oration for the dead of Athens, in Thucydides. Wish there was a more modern translation available, but: "...They resigned to hope their unknown chance of happiness; but in the face of death they resolved to rely upon themselves alone. And when the moment came they were minded to resist and suffer, rather than to fly and save their lives; they ran away from the word of dishonor, but on the battlefield their feet stood fast, and in an instant, at the height of their fortune, they passed away from the scene, not of their fear, but of their glory."
