Scottish war memorials
Encyclopedia
Scottish war memorials are found in all communities in Scotland
. They are found on most main streets and most churches in Scotland. Many commemorate the sacrifice of the First World War but there are many others to wars before and since 1914–1918
and there is a martial tradition which is strong in Scotland. Scots have fought in many battles and served in armed forces
in many parts of the world. This service has been part of Scots armies; as mercenaries, and in the British Armed Forces
. The service of the martial Scots are commemorated with war memorials across Scotland and around the world.
Scottish war memorials commemorate the sacrifices made as early as 1263 up to the recent war in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan
The earliest memorials record the battles fought against Viking
and English invaders. Later ones recall Scottish civil wars. Sometimes these civil wars are related to religious intolerance
, sometimes over the succession
of royalty.
Most of these early memorials have the same thing in common. They were not erected until the 19th century, sometimes hundreds of years after the actual battle had taken place. Another thing they have in common is that they don’t list individual names.
By the late nineteenth century after several small Colonial wars the Infantry
and Cavalry
regiments of Scotland had started to erect memorials in churches and garrison towns in Scotland. These memorials would now include lists of names. Sometimes just Officers
, but sometimes Non-commissioned Officers and enlisted men
The first recorded civic war memorial in Scotland where local men who died overseas in war and were named on a stone is in the local churchyard at Balmaclellan
, Dumfries and Galloway
and was erected after the Crimean War
. It was not until fifty years later after the Second Boer War
that other civic war memorials were erected in Scotland.
By 1914 a precedence had been set for local communities for erecting war memorials when they had lost their sons in war time. By the time the First World War had finished in 1918 nearly every community in Scotland decided to erect a memorial to their own war dead.
At the same time a proposal for a national war memorial led to the creation of the magnificent shrine at Edinburgh Castle
. The Scottish National War Memorial
. This memorial continues to commemorate Scots who have died in wars since 1914 and currently commemorates 206,779 men and women who have died serving in UK and Commonwealth
Forces.
At the same time as the civic and national memorials were being erected factories , banks , golf clubs , boys clubs , schools , universities churches , railways , police , post offices and even a prison
erected war memorials to those men and women who had gone to war.
Because of the size of military formations during the First World War there were not only regimental memorials erected but Scottish Brigade
and Scottish Divisional
memorials too.
After the Second World War many communities had the sad task of adding names to their existing war memorial. Aberlady
, East Lothian
used the same memorial they had erected for the Boer War
and used again for the First World War to list their Second World War Dead. Other communities chose to erect new memorials for the Second World War Dead rather than change the First World War Memorial.
Even today communities are still erecting war memorials to men and women who died in the First and Second World Wars.
Recent unveilings of Scottish war memorials include.
Celtic cross
, obelisk
, cairn
, mercat cross
, and statue
but they can also take the form of plaques
or tablet
s of bronze
, brass
, marble
, granite
or wood
; memorial gardens; fountains; rolls of honour; Crosses of Sacrifice
;clock towers; lychgates; parks; halls
; hospitals; bandstands; stained glass windows
; altars; baptismal fonts; sporting cups and medals.
Scotland was lucky to have artists and architects such as Sir Robert Lorimer, Alexander Carrick
, Charles Pilkington Jackson, Thomas Clapperton and William Birnie Rhind
amongst others who created some memorable monuments across the county.
After the First World War there was a difference of opinion in some communities as to whether a memorial to a community’s sacrifice should be a practical memorial which would benefit the living or a stone memorial to the dead. This led to some memorials being District Nurse
s, hospital beds, holiday cottages for war widows and orphans. Reorganisations of health care since the formation of the National Health Service
has meant that the care of these memorials was taken out of local control and many of these memorials no longer exist. With the disappearance of the memorial the sacrifice is forgotten.
or County Council
who still maintain them to this day (as Unitary Authorities) through the local community council
. Often the local branch of the Royal British Legion or other local volunteers help with the maintenance and upkeep of the civic memorials and the
Royal British Legion Scotland have an annual competition for the "Best Kept War Memorial".
Non-civic memorials are often in the care of churches, or clubs, or private companies. When these organisations leave a building, refurbish it or close then the future of the war memorials in their care is not always assured.
Since the 1960s church mergers and closures have sometimes meant that memorials integral to the buildings have been lost when the building has been demolished. Sometimes a new memorial is created to replace the old one such as at St George's Church in Edinburgh. Sometimes photographs of the memorials are all that is left. Greenside Church in Edinburgh have photographs of the memorial windows of St James's which were demolished along with the building in 1975.
The roll of honour
from St Mungo's church is in private hands after it was left for salvage when the Lockhart Memorial Church in Edinburgh dissolved in 1984.
Other private memorials are at risk too. A roll of honour in Livingston
was recovered from a rubbish skip after the Social Club it was in was refurbished in 2008 and the memorial was thrown away.
Using photograph hosting websites the project is internet forum
based. It has no running costs and is entirely voluntary.
Memorials which list Scots war dead on their panels.
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...
. They are found on most main streets and most churches in Scotland. Many commemorate the sacrifice of the First World War but there are many others to wars before and since 1914–1918
History of Scottish War Memorials
The history of Scotland has often been bloodyBloody
Bloody is the adjectival form of blood but may also be used as an expletive attributive in Australia, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, South Africa , New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Anglophone Caribbean and Sri Lanka...
and there is a martial tradition which is strong in Scotland. Scots have fought in many battles and served in armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
in many parts of the world. This service has been part of Scots armies; as mercenaries, and in the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
. The service of the martial Scots are commemorated with war memorials across Scotland and around the world.
Scottish war memorials commemorate the sacrifices made as early as 1263 up to the recent war in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
The earliest memorials record the battles fought against Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
and English invaders. Later ones recall Scottish civil wars. Sometimes these civil wars are related to religious intolerance
Religious intolerance
Religious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
, sometimes over the succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
of royalty.
Most of these early memorials have the same thing in common. They were not erected until the 19th century, sometimes hundreds of years after the actual battle had taken place. Another thing they have in common is that they don’t list individual names.
By the late nineteenth century after several small Colonial wars the Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and Cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiments of Scotland had started to erect memorials in churches and garrison towns in Scotland. These memorials would now include lists of names. Sometimes just Officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
, but sometimes Non-commissioned Officers and enlisted men
The first recorded civic war memorial in Scotland where local men who died overseas in war and were named on a stone is in the local churchyard at Balmaclellan
Balmaclellan
Balmaclellan is a small hillside village of stone houses with slate roofs in a fold of the Galloway hills in south-west Scotland...
, Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
and was erected after the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. It was not until fifty years later after the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
that other civic war memorials were erected in Scotland.
By 1914 a precedence had been set for local communities for erecting war memorials when they had lost their sons in war time. By the time the First World War had finished in 1918 nearly every community in Scotland decided to erect a memorial to their own war dead.
At the same time a proposal for a national war memorial led to the creation of the magnificent shrine at Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
. The Scottish National War Memorial
Scottish National War Memorial
The Scottish National War Memorial is located in Edinburgh Castle, and commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. The monument was formally opened in 1927...
. This memorial continues to commemorate Scots who have died in wars since 1914 and currently commemorates 206,779 men and women who have died serving in UK and Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
Forces.
At the same time as the civic and national memorials were being erected factories , banks , golf clubs , boys clubs , schools , universities churches , railways , police , post offices and even a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
erected war memorials to those men and women who had gone to war.
Because of the size of military formations during the First World War there were not only regimental memorials erected but Scottish Brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
and Scottish Divisional
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
memorials too.
After the Second World War many communities had the sad task of adding names to their existing war memorial. Aberlady
Aberlady
Aberlady is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. On Aberlady Bay, it is five miles northwest of Haddington and approximately 18 miles east of Edinburgh, to which it is linked by the A198 Dunbar - Edinburgh road.Aberlady Parish Church dates back to the 15th century. It...
, East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
used the same memorial they had erected for the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and used again for the First World War to list their Second World War Dead. Other communities chose to erect new memorials for the Second World War Dead rather than change the First World War Memorial.
Even today communities are still erecting war memorials to men and women who died in the First and Second World Wars.
Recent unveilings of Scottish war memorials include.
- The civic war memorials at WaterlooWishawWishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
, LanarkshireLanarkshireLanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
and Cowie, StirlingCowie, StirlingCowie is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies on the minor B9124 road approximately 4 miles south-east of Stirling and about a mile north of the A9 road. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded the population as 2387....
. - The Air Forces Memorial at GrangemouthGrangemouthGrangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
- The Black WatchThe Black WatchThe Black Watch is a 1929 American early epic adventure drama film directed by John Ford and written by James Kevin McGuinness based on the novel King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy. The film starred Victor McLaglen...
memorial at Balhousie CastleBalhousie CastleBalhousie Castle, located in Perth, Scotland , dates to 1631, though its origins are believed to go back a further three hundred years. It originally served as the seat of the Earls of Kinnoull, and stood within a walled enclosure containing subsidiary buildings, orchards etc...
, PerthPerth, ScotlandPerth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire... - “Buckhaven’s Secret”, FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
- ‘Bamse’ Memorial to the Norwegian Navy dog at MontroseMontrose, AngusMontrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
Types of Scottish War Memorials
There is no typical Scottish war memorial. Five of the most common types areCeltic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
, obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, 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...
, mercat cross
Mercat cross
A mercat cross is a market cross found in Scottish cities and towns where trade and commerce was a part of economic life. It was originally a place where merchants would gather, and later became the focal point of many town events such as executions, announcements and proclamations...
, and statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
but they can also take the form of plaques
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
or tablet
Memorial Plaque
The Memorial Plaque was issued after the First World War to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war....
s of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
or wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
; memorial gardens; fountains; rolls of honour; Crosses of Sacrifice
Cross of Sacrifice
The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission and is usually present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. It is normally a freestanding four point limestone Latin cross in one of three sizes ranging in height from 18 to...
;clock towers; lychgates; parks; halls
Halls
Halls is a plural of the word hall.Halls may also refer to:* Halls of residence, a type of student housing or dormitory* Halls , a brand of cough drop* Halls, Tennessee, a town in West Tennessee...
; hospitals; bandstands; stained glass windows
Stained Glass Windows
Stained Glass Windows was an early broadcast television program, broadcast on early Sunday evenings on the ABC network. The program was a religious broadcast, hosted by the Reverend Everett Parker....
; altars; baptismal fonts; sporting cups and medals.
Scotland was lucky to have artists and architects such as Sir Robert Lorimer, Alexander Carrick
Alexander Carrick
Alexander Carrick 1882–1966 was one of Scotland’s leading monumental sculptors of the early part of the 20th century. He was responsible for many architectural and ecclesiastical works as well as many war memorials executed in the period following World War I...
, Charles Pilkington Jackson, Thomas Clapperton and William Birnie Rhind
William Birnie Rhind
William Birnie Rhind RSA was a Scottish sculptor.Rhind was born in Edinburgh as the eldest son of sculptor John Rhind , and the elder brother of J. Massey Rhind...
amongst others who created some memorable monuments across the county.
After the First World War there was a difference of opinion in some communities as to whether a memorial to a community’s sacrifice should be a practical memorial which would benefit the living or a stone memorial to the dead. This led to some memorials being District Nurse
District nurse
District Nurses are senior nurses who manage care within the community, leading teams of community nurses and support workers. Typically much of their work involves visiting house-bound patients to provide advice and care, for example, palliative care, wound management, catheter and continence...
s, hospital beds, holiday cottages for war widows and orphans. Reorganisations of health care since the formation of the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
has meant that the care of these memorials was taken out of local control and many of these memorials no longer exist. With the disappearance of the memorial the sacrifice is forgotten.
Care of Memorials
Once the memorials were erected and unveiled the committee who raised them then passed them into the care of another organisation. In the case of the civic memorials they were passed on to the local Municipal CorporationMunicipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
or County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
who still maintain them to this day (as Unitary Authorities) through the local community council
Community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...
. Often the local branch of the Royal British Legion or other local volunteers help with the maintenance and upkeep of the civic memorials and the
Royal British Legion Scotland have an annual competition for the "Best Kept War Memorial".
Non-civic memorials are often in the care of churches, or clubs, or private companies. When these organisations leave a building, refurbish it or close then the future of the war memorials in their care is not always assured.
Since the 1960s church mergers and closures have sometimes meant that memorials integral to the buildings have been lost when the building has been demolished. Sometimes a new memorial is created to replace the old one such as at St George's Church in Edinburgh. Sometimes photographs of the memorials are all that is left. Greenside Church in Edinburgh have photographs of the memorial windows of St James's which were demolished along with the building in 1975.
The roll of honour
Roll of Honour
Roll of Honour may refer to:*A memorial list of names of people who have died in military, police service or other services*Roll of Honour , an Irish Republican song praising the participants in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike...
from St Mungo's church is in private hands after it was left for salvage when the Lockhart Memorial Church in Edinburgh dissolved in 1984.
Other private memorials are at risk too. A roll of honour in Livingston
Livingston, Scotland
Livingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
was recovered from a rubbish skip after the Social Club it was in was refurbished in 2008 and the memorial was thrown away.
Interest in Scottish War Memorials
There are three organisations with a national interest in Scottish War Memorials.- UK National Inventory of War MemorialsUK National Inventory of War MemorialsThe UK National Inventory of War Memorials was founded in 1989 to build a comprehensive record of every war memorial in the United Kingdom ....
is based in the Imperial War MuseumImperial War MuseumImperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in London and is recording basic information of all the UK's war memorials. Also known as the UKNIWM - The War Memorials Trust has been set up to help local organisations with information on maintenance, conservation, listing and cleaning of war memorials. In Scotland it works with Historic ScotlandHistoric ScotlandHistoric Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
in running a small grants scheme for conservation and repair of war memorials including restoring the legibility of inscriptions. (note that routine maintenance is specifically excluded) - The Scottish War Memorials Project has been set up to record Scotland’s War memorials (see below)
The Scottish War Memorials Project
Running since December 2006 as a voluntary project to photograph and record all of Scotland’s war memorials and make them online for free. The Scottish War Memorials Project has over 4,000 war memorials recorded to date including nearly all the c.1,200 civic memorials in the cities, towns and villages across Scotland.Using photograph hosting websites the project is internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
based. It has no running costs and is entirely voluntary.
War Memorials in Scotland
Based on the UKNIWM's approximate total of 55,000 war memorials in the whole of the UK then an assumption of a total of Scottish war memorials of between 5,000 and 6,000 is not an unreasonable estimate. It would be impossible to list them all here so the following lists are based on examples already listed on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.Pre-First World War
- Battle of Drumclog Memorial
- Battle of Culloden Memorial
- Balmaclellan Crimean War Memorial
First World War
There are over 1,000 civic war memorials remembering the First World War in Scotland. There are hundreds more no-civic memorials so this list provides only a small example of the war memorials in Scotland- Alloa War Memorial
- Beith War Memorial
- Blairgowrie War Memorial
- Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Memorial
- Crimond War Memorial
- City of Dundee War Memorial
- Kilmarnock War MemorialKilmarnock War MemorialThe Kilmarnock War Memorial is a war memorial located in Kilmarnock and built in 1927 to remember everyone who fought in the First World War. The building is accessible to the public, although it is locked. The key is available from the Dick Institute situated nearby. The walks are covered with...
- Kilwinning War Memorial
- Parish of Kildonan War Memorial
- Isle of Lewis War Memorial
- Maxwelltown War Memorial
- Oban War Memorial
- Scots American War Memorial
- Stewarton war Memorial
- War memorial near Brabsterdoran
- Scottish National War MemorialEdinburgh CastleEdinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, Edinburgh Castle. 148,270 names listed for 1914–1918
Spanish Civil War
- Edinburgh Spanish Civil War Memorial
Second World War
- Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle. 57,726 names listed for 1939–1945
- Royal Scots Fusilier WW2 Memorial
- Commando MemorialCommando MemorialThe 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...
, Spean BridgeSpean BridgeSpean 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... - 5th Bn Seaforth Highlanders War Memorial
- XII Submarine Flotilla War Memorial
Post-Second World War to Present
- Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle. 783 names listed for wars since 1945
Scottish war memorials outside Scotland
War memorials to Scots and Scottish regiments can also be found outside Scotland- 51st (Highland) Division Monument (Beaumont-Hamel)51st (Highland) Division Monument (Beaumont-Hamel)The 51st Division Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel is a memorial in France commemorating the soldiers of the 51st Division killed during World War I. The memorial is located near Y Ravine on the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial site...
- The Liverpool Scottish memorial stoneThe Liverpool Scottish memorial stoneThe Liverpool Scottish memorial stone is a World War I memorial erected in Belgium in 2000.-Unit history:The Liverpool Scottish unit of the British Army fought in the second wave of the "Battle of Hooge", officially known as the "First Attack at Bellewaarde", in June 1915 during World War I...
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorials Commemorating Scots
Apart from the memorials listed above which are for Scots and Scottish regiments the following memorials are examples of Commonwealth War Graves CommissionCommonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
Memorials which list Scots war dead on their panels.
- Menin GateMenin GateThe Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium dedicated to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of the First World War and whose graves are unknown...
– commemorating the defenders that died in the Ypres SalientYpres SalientThe Ypres Salient is the area around Ypres in Belgium which was the scene of some of the biggest battles in World War I.In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. Therefore, the salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops...
, whose graves are unknown, in Ypres, Belgium. - Malta MemorialMalta MemorialThe Malta Memorial is a commemorative war memorial monument to the 2,298 Commonwealth aircrew who lost their lives in the various Second World War air battles and engagements around the Mediterranean, and who have no known grave....
– dedicated to Commonwealth aircrew who fought, and lost their lives in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. Located in VallettaVallettaValletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
. - Tower Hill MemorialTower Hill MemorialThe Tower Hill Memorial is a national war memorial on the south side of Trinity Square Gardens, just to the north of the Tower of London. It commemorates those from the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea".The First World War memorial...
– commemorating Merchant Seamen. Located in London - Chatham Naval MemorialChatham Naval MemorialChatham Naval Memorial is a large obelisk situated in the town of Chatham, Kent, which is in the Medway Towns.Chatham was a principal manning port of the Royal Navy during the First World War and thus was dedicated as the site of one of three memorials to sailors of the Royal Navy killed during the...
– One of the three main Royal Navy memorials erected after the First World War. - La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorialLa Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorialThe La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial is a World War I memorial in France, located on the south bank of the River Marne, on the outskirts of the commune of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, 66 kilometres east of Paris, in the department of Seine-et-Marne...
– Located in France
See also
- Armed Forces MemorialArmed Forces MemorialThe Armed Forces Memorial is a national memorial in the United Kingdom, dedicated to the 16,000 servicemen and women of the British Armed Forces killed on duty or through terrorist action since the Second World War.-History:...
- Canadian war memorialsCanadian war memorialsThe history of Canada comprises hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Canada, and the role of the Canadian military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. Many of these armed engagements are commemorated today with memorials across Canada and around the world...
- Military of ScotlandMilitary of ScotlandHistorically, Scotland has a long military tradition that predates the Act of Union with England. Its armed forces now form part of those of the United Kingdom and are known as the British Armed Forces.-Royal Scots Navy:...
- Scottish National War MemorialScottish National War MemorialThe Scottish National War Memorial is located in Edinburgh Castle, and commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. The monument was formally opened in 1927...
External links
- Scottish War Memorials Project – Online record of Scottish war memorials
- United Kingdom Inventory of War Memorials – Online record of UK war memorials
- The War Memorials Trust
- The Scottish National War Memorial – Online database of Post-1914 Scottish war dead
- Scottish War Graves Project – Online record of Scottish war graves