The memorial takes the form of a Cenotaph 31 feet high, which is surmounted by sarcophagus, upon which is laid to rest the figure of a fighting man, and is flanked by wing walls terminated by bastions 10 feet high, and enclosed by low seats. There were 2,833 employees who died.

The memorial bears in large letters the following inscription:-

“To the brave men of the Midland Railway who gave their lives in the Great War”

and placed within laurel wreaths in the Midland Company’s coat of arms. On the walls, bastions, and podium, are engraved the names of all the Midland men who gave their lives in the Great Cause, either on land, on the sea, or when engaged in the air service.

The memorial has been designed by and erected by and erected under the personal supervision of Sir Edwin L. Lutyens, R.A., the eminent architect, who also designed the National Memorial erected in Westminster, near the Houses of Parliament. His design expresses the triumphant end of the war, as well as the sadness and sorrow it entailed, and is intended to embody the whole meaning of those troubled years which have bequeathed to us the memory of so many good lives lost and stout hearts which no longer beat. It marks the victory which crowned their whole efforts, and the pride with which the Midland Company can truly affirm – “Our men did not a little to that end.”

Not all relatives were invited to the opening, instead a booklet was sent to the relatives.