Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial
The Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial is a permanent national memorial in London dedicated to the members of the British armed forces and civilians who served in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan between 1990 and 2015. It stands as one of the most significant and emotionally resonant commemorative monuments in the United Kingdom, honouring the thousands of men and women who were deployed to these theatres of war, including the 634 British service personnel who lost their lives. The memorial was unveiled by HM The Queen in March 2017, marking it as a relatively recent addition to London's landscape of remembrance, though one that speaks to conflicts very much within living memory for a large portion of the British population.
The memorial was designed by the sculptor Paul Day, who is also known for his work on the Meeting Place sculpture at St Pancras International station. The design features a striking bronze frieze that wraps around a central stone plinth, depicting a wide cast of characters drawn from the conflicts — soldiers in action, medical personnel, interpreters, families waiting at home, and the bereaved. This rich figurative narrative is what sets the memorial apart from more abstract commemorative sculptures; it tells a human story and invites visitors to look closely and recognise the breadth of people touched by these wars. The craftsmanship is extraordinary in its detail, and visitors often find themselves discovering new vignettes and figures the longer they spend with it.
The memorial sits in Victoria Embankment Gardens, a long, narrow strip of green space that runs along the northern bank of the River Thames, between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge. This is a particularly well-chosen location, as the gardens themselves are a place of contemplation, already home to several other statues and memorials, and the sound of the river and the movement of boat traffic provide a gentle, constant backdrop. The area is sheltered from some of the noise of the Embankment road by mature plane trees, giving the gardens a slightly secluded quality despite being in the heart of the capital.
The surrounding area is rich with other points of interest. The Embankment runs close to Somerset House, the Courtauld Gallery, and within easy walking distance of Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Bridge. The Jubilee Footbridge connects this stretch of the river to the South Bank, where the National Theatre, the BFI Southbank cinema, and Tate Modern are all accessible. For visitors interested in other memorials, the area contains numerous statues and commemorative features, making it possible to walk a meaningful route along the riverfront encountering layers of British history.
Getting to the memorial is very straightforward. The nearest London Underground station is Embankment on the District, Circle, and Bakerloo lines, just a short walk away. Charing Cross mainline and underground station is also very close. There are several bus routes along the Embankment, and the location is well served by the Thames Clipper river bus service, which offers a particularly atmospheric way to approach by water. The memorial is in a publicly accessible garden, free to visit at any time, with no ticketing or booking required. It is wheelchair accessible along the riverside path, and the open garden setting means there are no barriers to access.
One of the more quietly moving aspects of the memorial is that it was not purely a government-commissioned project but arose significantly from the efforts of veterans, bereaved families, and campaign groups who spent years pressing for proper national recognition of these conflicts. There was a long period during which no permanent national memorial existed for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the eventual creation of this monument was seen by many families of the fallen as a belated but deeply meaningful act of national acknowledgement. The presence of civilian interpreters and support staff in the bronze frieze was a deliberate and important decision, reflecting the fact that many non-military individuals served at considerable personal risk and deserve to be remembered alongside uniformed personnel. This attention to inclusivity in the memorial's narrative design makes it a thoughtful and considered piece of public art as much as it is a place of mourning.