Cunninghame Graham Memorial
Encyclopedia
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...
author, politician,traveller and horseman .
The cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
was designed by Alexander Wright and was erected in June 1937, a year after Cunninghame Graham's death, on land that he had given to the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
at Castlehill
Castlehill, Dumbarton
Castlehill is an area of the town of Dumbarton in the West Dunbartonshire area of Scotland. Located in the Western part of the town next to the Brucehill area, Castlehill was built as a council run housing scheme...
, Dumbarton. The monument contains stones from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(top), Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
(left) and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
(right), countries in which Don Roberto had lived in his youth and about which he had written. Between these stones is a medallion of Cunninghame Graham (in his latter years) by the Liverpool born artist Alexander Proudfoot,RSA, who taught sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. Below the medallion is an epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
, which reads:
"Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham 1852-1936 - Famous Author - Traveller and Horseman - Patriotic Scot and Citizen of the World - As Betokened by the Stones above. Died in Argentina, interred in Inchamahome - He Was a Master of Life - A King Among Men"
At the opening ceremony, which was attended by the Duke of Montrose
Duke of Montrose
The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
(for Scotland), Dr Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani
Alberto Guani was an Uruguayan jurist, diplomat and the Vice President from 1943 to 1947.Alberto Guani was born in Montevideo in 1877...
(for Uruguay) and Cunninghame Graham's friend and biographer, Aimé Tschiffely (for Argentina), a wreath was laid by his great-nephew, Robert Elphinstone Cunninghame Graham.
The monument suffered considerable damage through vandalism during the 1970s and was moved in May 1981 to the village of Gartmore
Gartmore
Gartmore is a village in the Stirling council area, Scotland. It is a picturesque little village with an excellent view of the Wallace Monument in Stirling, almost 25 miles away....
(where, until 1900, Gartmore House
Gartmore House
Gartmore House is a country house and estate in the village of Gartmore, Stirling, Scotland. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Graham family on the site of an earlier house. William Adam prepared plans for Nicol Graham of Gartmore in the 1740s, but according to Historic Scotland, it is...
had been the principal seat of the Cunninghame Graham family), and was unveiled on Cunninghame Graham's birthday (24 May). It is currently in the care of the National Trust for Scotland