Commando Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Commando Memorial is a Category A listed monument in Scotland
, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces
raised during World War II
. Situated around a mile from Spean Bridge
village, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle
. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis
and Aonach Mòr
.
The monument was first designated as a listed structure on 5 October 1971, and was upgraded to a Category A listing on 15 August 1996. On 18 November 1993 a further plaque was added to mark the Freedom of Lochaber being given to the Commando Association. On 27 March 2010 a 2 miles (3.2 km) war memorial path was opened connecting two local war memorials, the Commando Memorial, and the former High Bridge
built by General Wade, where the first shots were fired in the Jacobite Rising of 1745
in the Highbridge Skirmish
.
of three Commandos in characteristic dress complete with cap comforter, webbing
and rifle
, standing atop a stone plinth. The three Commandos are depicted looking south towards Ben Nevis
. The entire monument is 17 feet (5.2 m) tall. The monument has been variously described as a huge, striking and iconic statue.
"United we conquer" is inscribed around the top of the stone plinth, while the original plaque on the stone plinth reads: "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945. This country was their training ground."
is a small village around 8 miles (12.9 km) north-east of the town of Fort William
in the Scottish Highlands
, and the memorial is located approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) north-west of Spean Bridge, at the junction of the A82 road
and the B8004 road. It is a prominent landmark visible from the A82, and the site itself offers views across the River Spean valley to the peaks of Ben Nevis
and Aonach Mòr
to the south.
The location was chosen because it is on the route from Spean Bridge railway station
to the former Commando Training Centre at nearby Achnacarry Castle
. Arriving prospective Commandos would de-train after a 14-hour journey, load their kit bags onto waiting trucks and then speed march the 7 miles (11.3 km) to the training centre in full kit with weapon, weighing a total of 36 pounds (16.3 kg). Anyone not completing it within 60 minutes was immediately RTU'd (returned to unit
).
It has become one of Scotland's best-known war memorials and a popular tourist attraction, visited by tens of thousands of people every year.
region which the monument overlooks, while they were based at the Achnacarry Commando Training Centre established in 1942. As such it is used as site for memorial services, including the 60th anniversary of D-Day
, and Remembrance Day
ceremonies.
A Garden of Remembrance, which was subsequently added to the site, is used by many surviving Word War II Commandos as the designated final resting place for their ashes
. It has also been used as a place where many families have scattered ashes and erected tributes to loved ones who belonged to contemporary Commando units and who have died in more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War
or in Afghanistan
and Iraq
.
The appearance of the site has been criticised in recent years as not having been kept in a condition befitting its nature as a memorial, with various groups undertaking clean-up operations.
and schooled at Gray's School of Art
, the Edinburgh College of Art
and the École des Beaux-Arts
in Paris. After touring Europe and winning two out of the five open commissions offered for the Empire Exhibition
, he served in the Army during World War II, working alongside commandos. After the war he took the post of Head of Sculpture at Duncan of Jordanstone' College
in 1947. Sutherland was elected ARSA (Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
) in 1950 and FRBS (Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors
) in 1961. In 1975 he retired, and died nine years later in hospital in Dundee
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces
British Commandos
The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
raised during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Situated around a mile from Spean Bridge
Spean Bridge
Spean Bridge is a village, in the Highland region of Scotland.The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between Fort William and Fort Augustus, and not from Telford's bridge of 1819 which carries the A82 over the river at the heart of the...
village, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at Achnacarry Castle
Achnacarry Castle
Achnacarry Castle is the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron, located at Achnacarry, about northeast of Fort William, Scotland. The original castle was built around 1655 and destroyed after the Battle of Culloden in 1746; a new house in Scottish baronial style was built nearby in...
. Unveiled in 1952 by the Queen Mother, it has become one of Scotland's best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
and Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. It is located about 2 miles/ 3 km north east of Ben Nevis on the south side of Glen Spean, near the town of Fort William...
.
History
In 1949, the sculptor Scott Sutherland won a competition open to all Scottish sculptors for the commission, The Commando Memorial. Sutherland's design won first prize of £200. The base of the bronze statue is inscribed with the date of 1951. The sculpture was cast in the H.H Martyn and Company's foundry. The memorial was officially unveiled by the Queen Mother in 1952. The exact date of this unveiling is variously given as 27 September, 12 September or 4 October.The monument was first designated as a listed structure on 5 October 1971, and was upgraded to a Category A listing on 15 August 1996. On 18 November 1993 a further plaque was added to mark the Freedom of Lochaber being given to the Commando Association. On 27 March 2010 a 2 miles (3.2 km) war memorial path was opened connecting two local war memorials, the Commando Memorial, and the former High Bridge
Highbridge, Scotland
Highbridge is located on the River Spean, downstream from the village of Spean Bridge in the Scottish Highlands. The village takes its name from this bridge....
built by General Wade, where the first shots were fired in the Jacobite Rising of 1745
Jacobite Rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, often referred to as "The 'Forty-Five," was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent...
in the Highbridge Skirmish
Highbridge Skirmish
The Highbridge Skirmish was the first engagement of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 between British Government troops and Jacobites loyal to Prince Charles Edward Stuart...
.
Description
The monument consists of a cast bronze sculptureBronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
of three Commandos in characteristic dress complete with cap comforter, webbing
Webbing
Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope. The name webbing comes from the meshed material frequently used in its construction, which resembles a web...
and rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
, standing atop a stone plinth. The three Commandos are depicted looking south towards Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
. The entire monument is 17 feet (5.2 m) tall. The monument has been variously described as a huge, striking and iconic statue.
"United we conquer" is inscribed around the top of the stone plinth, while the original plaque on the stone plinth reads: "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945. This country was their training ground."
Location
Spean BridgeSpean Bridge
Spean Bridge is a village, in the Highland region of Scotland.The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between Fort William and Fort Augustus, and not from Telford's bridge of 1819 which carries the A82 over the river at the heart of the...
is a small village around 8 miles (12.9 km) north-east of the town of Fort William
Fort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, and the memorial is located approximately 1 miles (1.6 km) north-west of Spean Bridge, at the junction of the A82 road
A82 road
The A82 is a trunk road in Scotland. It is the principal route from Lowland Scotland to the western Scottish Highlands, running from Glasgow to Inverness, going by Loch Lomond, Glen Coe and Fort William. It is the second longest primary A-road in Scotland after the A9, which is the other...
and the B8004 road. It is a prominent landmark visible from the A82, and the site itself offers views across the River Spean valley to the peaks of Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
and Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr
Aonach Mòr is a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. It is located about 2 miles/ 3 km north east of Ben Nevis on the south side of Glen Spean, near the town of Fort William...
to the south.
The location was chosen because it is on the route from Spean Bridge railway station
Spean Bridge railway station
Spean Bridge railway station is a railway station serving the village of Spean Bridge in the Highland region of Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line.- History :...
to the former Commando Training Centre at nearby Achnacarry Castle
Achnacarry Castle
Achnacarry Castle is the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron, located at Achnacarry, about northeast of Fort William, Scotland. The original castle was built around 1655 and destroyed after the Battle of Culloden in 1746; a new house in Scottish baronial style was built nearby in...
. Arriving prospective Commandos would de-train after a 14-hour journey, load their kit bags onto waiting trucks and then speed march the 7 miles (11.3 km) to the training centre in full kit with weapon, weighing a total of 36 pounds (16.3 kg). Anyone not completing it within 60 minutes was immediately RTU'd (returned to unit
Returned to unit
Returned To Unit or RTU is a term used in the Canadian Forces and the UK to refer to a military member being returned to their home base or home unit, either due to their being medically unfit, their requesting to be withdrawn from training, or their being unfit for training or otherwise disorderly...
).
It has become one of Scotland's best-known war memorials and a popular tourist attraction, visited by tens of thousands of people every year.
Memorial
The monument stands as a memorial to the British Commandos who trained all around the LochaberLochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
region which the monument overlooks, while they were based at the Achnacarry Commando Training Centre established in 1942. As such it is used as site for memorial services, including the 60th anniversary of D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, and Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
ceremonies.
A Garden of Remembrance, which was subsequently added to the site, is used by many surviving Word War II Commandos as the designated final resting place for their ashes
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
. It has also been used as a place where many families have scattered ashes and erected tributes to loved ones who belonged to contemporary Commando units and who have died in more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
or in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
The appearance of the site has been criticised in recent years as not having been kept in a condition befitting its nature as a memorial, with various groups undertaking clean-up operations.
Sculptor
Scott Sutherland (15 May 1910 - 10 October 1984) was an award-winning Scottish sculptor born in Wick, HighlandWick, Highland
Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...
and schooled at Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art
Gray's School of Art is an integral part of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen that is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland...
, the Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
and the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris. After touring Europe and winning two out of the five open commissions offered for the Empire Exhibition
Empire Exhibition
Empire Exhibition may be:*British Empire Exhibition, held in London in 1924 and 1925*Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938, held in Glasgow...
, he served in the Army during World War II, working alongside commandos. After the war he took the post of Head of Sculpture at Duncan of Jordanstone' College
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is an integral part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom and has an outstanding reputation in both practice and research.-History:Attempts were made to...
in 1947. Sutherland was elected ARSA (Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
) in 1950 and FRBS (Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors
Royal British Society of Sculptors
The Royal British Society of Sculptors is a registered charity whose aims are to promote and support sculpture. It has a worldwide membership....
) in 1961. In 1975 he retired, and died nine years later in hospital in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
.
Gallery
- For a full gallery see The Commando Memorial page on the Wikimedia CommonsWikimedia CommonsWikimedia Commons is an online repository of free-use images, sound and other media files. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation....
External links
- In pictures: Commando gathering, 29 April 2004