 The inscription on the west side lists the positions of Chief of Combined Operations (1941–1943) and Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia (1943–1946) he held during the Second World War.Calls for a memorial to Mountbatten began in the Letters pages of "The Times" in November 1979; in July 1981 a further letter in support of the proposal was published, which was signed by the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, leaders of opposition parties and members of the armed forces.The Queen, Elizabeth II, chose the location for the statue and the matter was considered by the government in 1982.