10 March 2025

Stunning glass exhibition officially unveiled at Portcullis House on Commonwealth Day

Photo © House of Commons.

A poignant exhibition to honour every Commonwealth casualty during the Second World War at Portcullis House, Westminster was officially unveiled on Monday March 10th by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The event was held to mark Commonwealth Day, which aims to highlight the enduring spirit of the Commonwealth and the diversity of its member nations.

As part of the unveiling of the exhibition, a flag-raising ceremony also took place at Portcullis House, representing all 56 nations of the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth flag, to an anthem composed to mark 75 years of the Commonwealth last year.

Following the flag parade, Director General of the CWGC, Claire Horton CBE, and the Speaker of the House, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, then formally marked the opening of a new exhibition at Portcullis House, a glass wall which features 580,850 names of people who died or went missing during the Second World War.

The 17.5 metre-long wall, made of 14 panels of glass, brings together all the names that the CWGC have commemorated around the globe for Second World War into one place for the first time. The names are randomly listed throughout the wall rather than in alphabetical order, to emphasise the chaos of the conflict.

It also features selected photographs of some of the soldiers which had previously been uploaded to the CWGC’s online archive of individual stories, For Evermore – and features information on how visitors can upload their own stories to the archive.

The wall sits alongside the CWGC’s Torch of Commemoration - symbolising the responsibility of remembrance of the two World Wars - which is also included in the temporary exhibition. The exhibition will also feature twelve panels detailing CWGC’s global operations to commemorate the 1.7 million casualties of the two World Wars.

To mark the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day, when the Second World War officially ended, the torch will tour across the UK and beyond to raise awareness of the need to remember the fallen.

Commenting on the exhibition and the upcoming torch roadshow, Claire Horton CBE, Director General of the CWGC, said:
“This stunning exhibition is a touching visual reminder of the sheer loss of life during the Second World War for combatants who served on behalf of Commonwealth nations during the conflict.

“Never before have the names of all those who died or went missing in action been displayed in one place, and we think the magnitude of the display will resonate with the public in advance of the 80th anniversaries of VE-Day and VJ-Day, as well as highlighting the role the whole of the Commonwealth played in the war.

“Our Torch of Commemoration, which was a key part of the D-Day 80 commemorations last year, will also take pride of place in the exhibition and we’re looking forward to touring it once again. The need to pass on the responsibility of commemoration to younger generations remains crucially important, and our torch symbolises this need.

“I must thank the Speaker of the House for making this exhibition possible. Without his cooperation, we would not have been able to share this incredible installation.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, said:
“The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War brings into sharp focus how we as Commonwealth countries fought together to defeat a common enemy – and how we worked together afterwards to rebuild our nations, parliaments and lives.

“Seeing this unprecedented display of more than half a million names draws attention to the incredible scale of sacrifice and human cost - and serves as a vivid reminder to MPs and future generations of the devastating impact of war.”

To discover and add stories of the fallen on For Evermore, the CWGC’s free digital platform, please visit: www.cwgc.org/stories