Temple of Peace History


The Temple of Peace was opened on 23 November 1938. It was a gift from Lord Davies to the Welsh people. He wanted it to be "a memorial to those gallant men from all nations who gave their lives in the war that was to end war" and so it was dedicated to the memory of the loss of life as a result of the 1914 - 1918 War.
Davies had fought in the trenches during this war, and was actively involved in the search for stable international order through the League of Nations and the League of Nations Union. He wanted to see the establishment of a strong International Police force so that international agreement and peace could be obtained. Born in 1880, he died on 16 June 1944, before the Second World War ended, but was continually stressing, as in a letter of 1943, "the vital importance of arousing our people to the need for an International Authority", posing the question "what doth it profit a nation if it gains the whole world and loses its own soul?"
In founding this public building, Lord Davies hoped to combine the ideals of peace and health. He wanted these two great humanitarian causes to be expressed in the architectural design of the building. The architect of the Temple of Peace and Health was Sir Percy Thomas, who was awarded the Bronze medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects for its design. The foundation stone was laid by Viscount Halifax in 1937, the building as a whole is made from materials from various countries, to emphasise the international nature of the work carried on inside the building.

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