The 1914-1918 memorial was designed by Edwin Lutyens and takes the form of a vaulted corridor. Inside are bronze plaques with 12,000 names on. It was opened by Queen Mary on 12 December 1928.
The World War 2 memorial was designed by Edward Maufe and takes the form of a sunken garden. It contains the names of 24,000 British seamen and 50 Australian seamen.
Between the two memorials are two columns with statues with representatations of seamen on. This was designed by Charles Wheeler. The second part of the memorial was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 5 November 1955.
The inscription reads "THE TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHOSE NAMES ARE HONOURED ON THE WALLS OF THIS GARDEN GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY AND HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA"