Lend Lease to build WW1 centenary arch

The coastal town in Kent was the main port of embarkation to and from the trenches of the Western Front and the memorial arch will be erected over the route taken by 10 million British and Commonwealth troops between 1914 and 1918.

Designed by Foster Gearing, the arch will have white holograms of troops projected onto to is at nightime.

The £500,000 project - which is being called Step Short - will be opened on 4th August, 2014, the hundredth anniversary of the exact day that the war broke out.

Lend Lease said it would build the arch for no charge.

Damian Collins, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe who is Step Short’s project chairman, said: “Ten million servicemen, as well as medical staff, passed through Folkestone during the war, making it the major port of embarkation to and from the trenches of the Western Front.

“These included soldiers not just from the United Kingdom, but Australia, New Zealand, Canada and allies of the war effort from around the world.”

“Large numbers of these men were assembled outside the Grand Hotel, on the cliff tops, and marched down the Slope Road to the harbour and the ships waiting to take them to France.

“As they descended the command was given to ‘Step Short’, so that they did not lose their footing marching downhill carrying heavy packs.”

“To mark the centenary of the war the Step Short project is building a memorial arch that will stand near the top of that road, over the route taken by the soldiers marching to the harbour.

“We would like to thank Lend Lease for donating their services free of charge to project manage the design, procurement and delivery of the arch.”