The Scottish War Memorials Project

Adam Brown · Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:08 pm Post subject: City of Edinburgh War Memorial

City of Edinburgh War Memorial
Location: Outside City Chambers, Royal Mile
OS Ref:NT 257 736
Unveiled 11th November 1927

This is the understated memorial for the whole of the city of Edinburgh. A variation of Lutyen's Stone of Remembrance.

Adam

spoons · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:47 pm Post subject:

Surprisingly this does not seem to be listed on UKNIWM.

Here are two extra shots, one showing the brass plaque "TO ALL FALLEN IN WAR" and the other showing the reverse.

David McNay · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:56 am Post subject:

I'm told that the brass plaque is not original, and that the wording has been changed to a more "politically correct" wording from what was originally there.

I am also told that after some complaints, a replacement brass plaque, with the original wording, will be put back onto this memorial.

On a personal note, I have to say that this memorial does not do justice to the sacrifice made by the men of Edinburgh. When you look at the quality of memorials for some incredibly small communites, Edinburgh really should hang its head in shame that this is the best they could do to remember its fallen.

Adam Brown · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:45 pm Post subject:

David

There was a lot of debate after the Great War about Edinburgh's memorial. There were some plans made for a very grandiose affair using the National Monument on Calton Hill. Not finishing it as a classical temple but using the existing columns as a backdrop for a great deal of statuary. It would have been quite a unique war memorial.

It didn’t come to anything and I think the memorial here is so small because it needed to sit between the City Chambers and St Giles. The reason for a small memorial was that the City as Capital of Scotland could also count on the SNWM as their memorial. The thinking being Edinburgh did not need to build another grand monument since there was already one in the City at the top of Castle Rock.

The simplicity of it is also deliberate. The memorial is a variation of Lutyen’s Stone of Remembrance. These were placed in IWGC cemeteries which had more than 500 graves. By copying that design it is illustrating the size of Edinburgh’s loss. Unfortunately the Stone of Remembrance and SNWM links are not obvious to Edinburgh’s citizens today and it just looks like we’ve got a poor memorial for a city.

This lack of knowledge is what prompted calls by the City Council last year to create a Second World War memorial in Princes Street Gardens. They had actually got to the stage of asking for design proposals but nothing will come of it because the Council will not be able to afford it when it comes to actually building anything.

Adam
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Scottish Monuments & Memorials