The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 7:10 pm Post subject: Leith War Memorial

Leith War Memorial Hospital
Location: Great Junction Street, Edinburgh
OS Ref: To follow

Although a memorial hospital this is Leith's civic memorial. A roll of honour was compiled in the 1920s but it has since disappeared and the likelihood is that it has been thrown away.

Adam

David McNay · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject:

Sir John Gilmour, Secretary of State for Scotland, who opened the hospital, is also known as Jack Gilmour, who commanded the Fife Light Horse Company of the Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War.

The book "Clearly My Duty", which consists of his letters home from the front, is well worth reading.

Adam Brown · Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

I forgot to add that the hospital closed a couple of years ago and has been replaced by a new healh centre further along the road. The building has now been converted into flats so if you have a hankering (and a large mortgage) then you too could live in a war memorial!

Adam

spoons · Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:24 pm Post subject: Re: Leith War Memorial

Adam Brown · Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:07 pm Post subject:

Spoons

I think it disappeared about 20 years ago during building work (perhaps I'm thinking of the Edinburgh one which has suffered the same fate)

Jack Alexander has been hunting for them both for years to no avail.

I'm afraid there will be no happy ending to this story, they've long been sent to a landfill or incinerated and there are no other copies.

Regards

adam

lost in tilloy · Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Posts: 111

Hi

Possible update on this missing ROH.

The Edinburgh Evening News dated Tuesday March 11 2008 had an item on page 20 which says the following:

"A display date has been confirmed for never-before-seen archives featuring the names of men who fell during the First World War.

The Leith Rolls of Honour have been in storage since they were created in the 1920s. But now, thanks to organisers of the Leith Festival and local historians, they will be available for public viewing as part of this year's Leith Festival, between May 30 and June 8 at Leith Library.

It means local people will be able to see details of their ancestors who fell during the Great War, and it is hoped it will prove a big hit with those going to the festival.

There are also plans to digitise the books, meaning people could search the archives without risking the condition of the volumes, which were kept at the old Leith Memorial Hospital before being moved to the Lothian Health Service Archives (LHSA).

A spokesman for the initiative said an appointment system would be in place whereby members of the public with relatives and loved ones named in the rolls would be able to see the particular page involved. Through the LHSA they will be able to obtain copies of the pages either in photographic, electronic transfer or other suitable means."

I'll be booking a place asap.

Regards
LIT

David McNay · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject:

Wow! That's a great piece of news!

Who knows, the Edinburgh Roll may turn up one day as well....

Adam Brown · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 3:14 pm Post subject:

I’ve just come across these posts today after finding a Scotsman article from 8th Feb which gives pretty much the same information but was published before their display was confirmed.

This is great news, I will certainly be taking a trip to Leith Library in a couple of weeks to see them if I can.

As a bonus the 1st Leith Boys Brigade Roll of Honour from their War Memorial Hall will also be on display

After looking on the internet it seems they were first re-discovered thirteen years ago because the LHSA archives held by Edinburgh University have an article about it from a 1995 Edinburgh ‘Evening News’.

Both article mentions they have been in storage since they were made but I believe they were held in the Hospital between 1927 and 1948 and were probably available for a search in the same way the SNWM rolls are available.

According to the Scotsman article the details included are:

The names, addresses, Army divisions and ages of those who fell, as well as the dates and causes of death.

More than enough to identify the names in the CWGC database. (I assume by Army divisions it actually means the regiment or unit).

Here are the details from the Leith Festival website

http://www.leithfestival.com/index.php?sn=ev&ssn=da&id=706&cat=&date=30

Leith WW1 Roll Of Honour

Fri 30 May 08 02.00 PM to 05.00 PM
Sat 31 May 08 10.00 AM to 12.30 PM

Mon 02 June 08 01.00 PM to 05.00 PM
Tue 03 June 08 10.00 AM to 12.00 PM
Tue 03 June 08 03.00 PM to 05.00 PM
Wed 04 June 08 10.00 AM to 05.00 PM
Thu 05 June 08 01.00 PM to 05.00 PM
Fri 06 June 08 10.00 AM to 05.00 PM
Sat 07 June 08 10.00 AM to 12.00 PM

The first ever display in this manner of the Leith WW1 Roll of Honour - In both original and computerised versions.
The 1st Leith BB Roll will also be displayed.

Venue: Leith Library
Enquiries: Steve Mitchell, 1st Leith BB Ex-Members Association

I have contacted Mr Mitchell for more information on viewing the RoHs.

The article also mentions that the local health centre (Leith CTC) has a memorial plaque in it. I assume this came from the old hospital.

Regards

Adam

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 10:56 am Post subject:

As part of the re-dedication of the Leith and BB Rolls of Honour yesterday a short service or Remembrance was held outside the Leith War Memorial.

1st Leith Coy. Boy's Brigade

205 (Scottish) Field Hospital (Volunteers)

Leith Festival

You can't read the note on this one but it was laid on behalf of the City of Edinburgh

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 11:05 am Post subject:

After the cermony at the War memorial everyone moved to Leith Library along the road for the service of re-dedication. It was a lovely day for a walk!

Here are the rolls on display. They are linked to the War Memorial but I will start another thread for the Roll of Honour.

There is also a display of the 1st Leith Coy. BB rolls. They will also get a seperate thread.

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 11:09 am Post subject:

Electronic copies of the Rolls of Honour are available to view at Leith Library during the day and the BB Memorial Hall a few yards along the road during the Leith Festival.

If anyone has the chance to go to Leith in the next few days I'd encourage them to make an appointment to see the online rolls (e-mail firstleither(at)gmail.com).

You can see the display cabinets at the library without booking.

Adam

ADP · Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 467 Location: Edinburgh

See http://www.oldleither.com/LeithHospital.html for pictures of two memorial plaques that were in Leith hospital.

ADP

kinnethmont · Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1649 Location: Aberdeenshire

A case for Pte. John Ramsay as an in service death non comm has now been accepted by MOD and his details added to the CWGC Debt of Honour Roll today.
His will be one of the first names added to the new France ( 1914-1918 ) Memorial.
John was born at Kinghorn, Fife and resided at 2 Ferrier Street, Leith. He was married with a young daughter.

Name: RAMSAY, JOHN
Initials: J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Cameron Highlanders
Unit Text: 5th Bn.
Age: 31
Date of Death: 17/07/1916
Service No: S/18297
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Memorial: FRANCE (1914-1918) MEMORIAL

MISSING NO MORE
_________________
Jim

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

www.kinnethmont.co.uk

Adam Brown · Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 6:30 pm Post subject:

Jim

That's good news. I have posted about the France (1914-1918) Memorial here:

http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=5637

Regards

Adam

Leither · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 13 Location: South-East Scotland

For the past two years I have managed to work on the Leith Roll of Honour. Like Tosy the project grew from finding where the 2206 casualties have been buried or commemorated and analysing the regiments to which they belonged and collecting obituaries and photos of headstones of the fallen. I now have a massive portfolio of material.

Lately I have been working with another enthusiast in photographing the headstones of 1WW & 2WW combatents who died and are buried in Warriston Cemetery as well as the inscriptions on many family memorials. Warriston for a large part is a widerness and we had to clear many graves to get the photos. Last Friday (21 May 2010) the CWGC erected 3 new headstones to 1WW victims who are buried in the cemetery but were in unmarked graves. Another name is to be inscribed on the memorial screen.

Leither.