Welsh National War Memorial

One of the most beautiful historical sites in Cardiff is the Welsh National War Memorial. It is located in Cardiff's Cathays Park's Alexandra Gardens. The memorial was created by Sir Ninian Comper, and the Prince of Wales unveiled it on June 12, 1928. The memorial honors the military personnel who lost their lives in the First World War, and a plaque honoring those who died in the Second World War was added in 1949.

The Welsh National War Memorial is shaped like a colonnade that goes around a sunken court. Inscriptions in Welsh and English are found on the frieze above the columns, respectively. Comper wrote the English inscription himself. A trio of bronze sculptures is positioned around a stone pylon in the middle of the court. Three figures—a soldier, a sailor, and an airman—hold wreaths aloft as they stand around the base.

The memorial is Comper's sole "secular" creation; he was mostly a church furnisher. He faced a lot of resistance because he was not a licensed architect, including from the president of the Royal Institute of British Architects and others, but the sculptors Sir William Goscombe John and Sir Hamo Thornycroft stood by him.

Location: Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales