The Scottish War Memorials Project

[graeme.ruxton]

Rankinston is the perfect example of an Ayrshire mining village. As such its current population of around 250 is perhaps less than a third what it would have been at the time of World War One. The war memorial is characteristically modest in size and design: a relatively simple obelisk in grey dressed granite, sitting on two square steps and surrounded by a fence in black-painted iron. However its size and simple design are very much in keeping with the local built environment, and the setting in the heart of the village continues to lend dignity to the monument to this day.

The front panel bears the inscription:

Erected to the memory of the men
Of this district who gave their lives
In the great war 1914-1919.

“They gave their bodies to the commonwealth
And received each for his own memory
Praise that will never die,
And with it the noblest sepulchre –
Not that in which their mortal bones are laid,
But a home in the minds of men.”

(This last quote is attributed to the ancient Greek statesman Pericles)
The two side panels list the 26 dead of the first world war by given name and surname (alphabetically by surname):

John Brown
Thomas Ballantyne
David P Clement
James Clement
Thomas Clifford
William Cook
Robert Graham
Charles Halbert
John Halbert
Robert Hamilton
William Laughland
Alexander Linden
Gilbert McMillan
Archibald Mair
David Millar
Alexander Poole
Samuel Poole
Robert Rodger
Donald Sloan
Robert Sloan
Thomas Sloan
William Sloan
Alexander Taylor
Samuel Wallace
James Walsh
Matthew Watters

Notable here are 3 sets of two brothers and the terrible loss of four brothers from the Sloan family. The unveiling (on 7th August 1921) was performed by their father, John Sloan. The local minister, Rev. J.E. Thomson, presided.

The back panel of the memorial has the following inscription

To the memory of the men
Of this district who gave
Their lives in the war
1939-1945

This is followed by the names given by initial and surname (not alphabetically this time):

J Speirs
W Speirs
W McMillan
W Whiteside
J Murray
G Wallace
R Wilson
J Halbert
J Dunn
W Sloan

The considerable overlap in names between the two wars perhaps the traditional nature of such mining communities with generations of one family staying in one place.

[dhubthaigh]

I like Graeme's introduction/description regarding this thread - very good.

[spoons]

There is a Rankinston Panel on the Coylton memorial which has the same names as this memorial with the following exceptions:

Coylton memorial has Ballantyne spelt as Ballantine

The two Halberts are listed on the Coylton district panel instead

Gilbert McMillan, Archibald Mair and David Millar are not listed

Rodger is spelt Rodgers

\Paul

[spoons]

Not listed on UKNIWM