The Scottish Military Research Group - Commemorations Project

KevinStoke · . Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 175

The follow pictures were sent to me from Ady Lowe.

KevinStoke · . Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 175

KevinStoke · . Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 175

KevinStoke · . Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 175

Monifieth Roll of Honour

In Memory of the men of Monifieth who gave their lives for their Country
1914-1918

Fredk Alexander
Charles Anderson
William Archibald
John D Beaton
John H Bethel
Alex m Brand
Alex Brown
Sam Brown
Wiliam Brown
James Caird
John Caird
Harry Christie
James Cochrane
Albert Chrichton
David Chrichton
Robert B Dick
John Don
A Fergusson
James G Fergusson
W Fergusson
Ernest W Forwell
James C Fraser
Charles S Geehie
Alex Glenday
Walter Goodfellow
Peter Gordon
Harry Kemp
John Kennedy
Alex Kinloch
J Knox
W C Laird
David C Low
Rod Macrae
RM Gregor
WM Mcintosh
AR Matthew
David Mitchell
David Moir
David Mudie
W Myles
W Ogilvie
R Pryde
Robert F Reid
David Rennie
David Riddoch
W Robertson
W B Robertson
J Scott
T Scott
W Smith
J Spalding
James Strachan
Martin Taylor
George Tullis
J Eric Walker
David Wallace
J C Wilston
Robert Wilson

jamiemcginlay · Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 930 Location: Glasgow

DelBoy · Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject:

The WW1 names are really hard to see, they need a shadow on them to make them readable.

WW2

FortyTwa · Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 128 Location: United Kingdom

Words fail me...

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2010/06/30/story15303343t0.shtm

War memorial targeted by flower thieves

The theft of around 200 flowers from an award-winning display at Monifieth’s war memorial was described as “shocking” today (writes Steven Bell, crime reporter).
Police revealed thieves had struck at the memorial on the corner of Albert Street and Maule Street, plucking a selection of plants from the soil.
A Tayside Police spokesman said, “It is clear the bedding plants have been taken from various parts of the display in an almost selective fashion.

“We are looking into whether there is any particular motive behind that.

“Door-to-door inquiries have been carried out and our inquiries are continuing.”

A council team created the display on June 14 and 15, but when a gardener returned to the site at 9 am on Monday he noticed various plants had been taken.

Police are appealing for anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area over that period to contact them.

When told of the crime today, Monifieth councillor Rob Murray said, “I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. This is not the sort of behaviour I would expect from anybody.

“It’s shocking and people will be upset about this. The displays there have won awards in the past and the people of Monifieth are rightly proud of them.

“I have never heard of anything like this happening before. Clearly I hope that Angus Council will now act as quickly as possible to repair the damage.

“Although what has happened is not the council’s fault, this is a war memorial that we are talking about and I would like the council to be able to fix the damage soon.”

The Art Deco war memorial was built in 1922, and the colourful annual displays which surround it have become a popular feature in the town.

The site is a past winner of the “with gardens” category in the Best Kept War Memorial competition for Angus and Perthshire, organised by the Royal British Legion Society.

Adam Brown · Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:55 pm Post subject:

From the 'Sunday Mail' of 14/11/10

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2010/11/14/scotland-pays-tribute-to-the-fallen-on-day-of-pain-pride-and-honour-86908-22716522/

Scotland pays tribute to the fallen on day of pain, pride and honour
Nov 14 2010 Audrey Gillan, Sunday Mail

THE name of Acting Sergeant Michael Lockett was the first since World War II to be carved on the war memorial in his home village.

The inscription reads simply: "Afghanistan, Michael Lockett."

Today, his mum April will lay a wreath at the monument in Monifieth, near Dundee.

As she joins other relatives to pay tribute to the fallen, she will wear a poppy laid by the Queen last year at the grave of the unknown soldier.

And she will proudly remember the day Her Majesty honoured her hero son for his courage.

April said: "Those very same hands that touched that poppy also pinned the Military Cross on my brave boy's chest at Buckingham Palace.

"It is very special to me.

"Last Remembrance Sunday, I was at Westminster Abbey. It's really unbearable in a way, there and at the Cenotaph - just a mass of very sad people.

"I asked one of the clergy at the Abbey for a poppy as a keepsake and he said, 'I can do better than that.' He went away and brought me the Queen's poppy."

Michael, 29, was killed by a Taliban bomb in September last year - on the day he had been due to fly home.

Every hour since has been difficult for April and Michael's stepfather Mal, but today of all days will be especially hard to bear.

April said: "I know it's going to be really difficult. It's like Michael's funeral all over again.

"I've felt sad all week because of Remembrance Sunday coming up.

"Armistice Day on Thursday was dreadful because it was on the news all day. And I can't listen to the Last Post - it just goes right through me.

"It's a horrible time, but it's important. People have got to recognise the sacrifices our soldiers have made.

"If it wasn't for all this sacrifice we wouldn't be here speaking.

"We are still sacrificing people. It is every conflict, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Falklands. It's about every soldier who has given their life each year and still more to come next year.

"Our soldiers don't even know if they're going to come back. And the public don't know what that's like."

Michael's name was added to the Monifieth war memorial just six weeks ago.

It sits alone on its part of the obelisk - he's the only man the town has lost in war since 1945. But the names of others, who fell in the World Wars, are close by.

Michael, known as Locky by his pals in 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, died as he marked an enemy bomb with spray paint to warn others.

By then, he was already a decorated hero. He won the MC on a previous tour of Afghanistan in 2007, when he helped rescue four comrades and recover the bodies of two others after a Taliban ambush.

The then corporal was knocked unconscious in the attack but recovered to lead the rescue team. He risked his own life to save his pals.

Michael was the first Military Cross holder to be killed in action since World War II.

He kept a diary in Afghanistan, and its last entry is a window into the hardship of a soldier's life. He wrote: "Worst day ever today. Went out on patrol. Came back violently sick. Headaches. Just want to sleep but far too busy."

The diary is April 's now, and she uses it to remember the names of the Brits and Americans killed in the war.

"That's my remembrance," she said as she flicked through the pages.

"I note the names and dates of those who have fallen. I note their funerals.

"Then there are the days where I write, 'All quiet, all quiet.' It's what Michael did in his diary and I'm doing the same.

"We shall remember them."

graeme.ruxton · Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 52

This memorial was the work of local architect Charles Geddes Soutar.

More information about him here: http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=202372

Although that website lists the date of this memorial as 1924, I think 1921 is correct: see http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=37973

Soutar's only other war memorial of the time was the much more modest one for Balmerino in Fife.

graeme.ruxton · Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 52

The figure at the top of the memorial is credited to the English sculpter Joseph Hermon Cawthra, who was involved in several war memorials.

Note the similarity of the Monifieth figure with that of the memorial for Gwersyllt in Clwyd, Wales:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hermon_Cawthra

Adam Brown · Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:29 am Post subject:

Graeme

The Gwersyllt War memorial and Monifieth's are almost identical from the photographs posted on Wikipedia. In which case was Joseph Hermon Cawthra the designer and Charles Geddes Soutar just someone who could manage the local tradesman to build the memorial to someone else's design?

It would be interesting to get the exact dates for both memorials. If Soutar did design the Monifieth memorial then he should also get credit for Gwersyllt.

Wikipedia's image of Gwersyllt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Welsh_Memorial_1.jpg

Thanks

Adam

graeme.ruxton · Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 52

I can't be certain, but my guess is that that the credit for design should probably go to Cawthra. Soutar was in partnership with another architect John Turnbull Maclaren who was born in Monifieth. You might guess that the local connection won this firm the contract for the memorial. You might then guess that the organising committee wanted a much grander memorial than anything this firm had tackled before, in particular with a sculped figure that was beyond their expertise, and so they subcontracted Cawthra who had a design that suited ideally, and had not be used in scotland previously. I know this is a lot of guesswork, but it rings more true with me than Soutar being involved in memorials outside Scotland, he very seemed to work outside scotland and very, very rarely far from Dundee. In contrast, Cawthra was more widely travelled and has other (non war memorial) work in Scotland. Further, he was not averse to getting maximum use of out a design. This same figure is alledge to also appear in a war memorial entitled "Men of Hackney" in St John's Church, Lower Clapton Road, Hackney, London.See

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-496119-war-memorial-st-john-at-hackney-churchya

Adam Brown · Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 8:25 am Post subject:

Graeme

Thanks for the extra information. It is almost certain that the design is Cawthra's and Soutar was the local man who made it happen. I found an image of St John's of Hackney's War Memorial By Jim Linwood on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/5030296710/

War Memorial, St. John-at-Hackney Churchyard - London. by Jim Linwood, on Flickr

graeme.ruxton · Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Posts: 52

Some more photos.

Firstly, and most sadly, the recent addition to the memorial mentioned in a previous post, regarding Michael Lockett, killed in Afganistan.

There can be no doubt that he was an exceptional soldier. If you search on Youtube you'll find an interview he did with a Guardian journalist, he comes across as a very thoughtful, modest and decent individual.

Secondly, I was a little luckier with lighting for the WWI names than a previous poster, and I think they can be made out reasonably clearly in the photos below:

Lastly, note how well maintained the surroundings are even in the depths of winter. Angus council really deserve credit for this.

anne park · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject: William Booth Robertson

William Booth Robertson Pte D/8027 1st King's Dragoon Guards b Kemnay, Aberdeen. e Dundee r Monifieth Age 25 Died India 02/11/1918 Son of Charles & Maggie Robertson, Kemnay. 1901 Census: Viewforth, Kemnay. Occ: Tailor. Corps of Dragoons. Soldiers Effects: Sister Mary Booth. Brother: Charles Geor. Sister: Mrs Isabella Olive maskell. Karachi 1914-1918 War Memorial, Pakistan