The memorial takes the form of a pylon, with an engaged pedestal projecting from its south side, supporting the figure of Nurse Cavell, who stands erect and with a determined expression, dressed in her nurse’s uniform. On the back of the pylon is a large relief of a lion trampling a serpent. Above the statue and relief, a stone band proclaims Cavell’s qualities: humanity, devotion, sacrifice, and fortitude. The pylon then diminishes somewhat and is capped by a transversal feature, giving it the form of a cross, the upper part formed by the demi-figure of Humanity, a female figure in a nurse’s costume, sheltering between her raised arms a seated child. In the accounts of the time, Humanity was said to be protecting smaller nations.