It beholds us all to work hard to create a world where war is not necessary
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COLUMN: Food for Thought by James Currall
It is now over a century since the Great War, came to an end in 1918.
In the aftermath of the War, people needed a focus for their grief their loss and their pride and so war memorials were established in most communities to commemorate those who had lost their lives.
After the Second World War, additional names were added to those memorials and some have had names added in relation to subsequent conflicts.
Most memorials were built and dedicated in the period 1921-1922, although one or two locally were a little later (e.g. Creich – 1923 and Helmsdale – 1924). As a consequence many will be marking their centenaries.
On Friday June 24, the community in Dornoch held a service of commemoration and rededication at their war memorial at the foot of Poles Road. On top of this impressive memorial there is a magnificent sculpture of a 5th Seaforth Highlander at Beaumont Hamel in about 1916. It was sculpted by Alexander Carrick and shows the soldier looking south towards the battlefields, with his right hand raised to his brow scanning the battlefield and his left hand holding a rifle.
This memorial was unveiled on June 7, 1922 and the Dundee Evening Telegraph reported: “The Duke of Sutherland unveiled the war memorial of the town and parish of Dornoch in presence of about 2000 people."
These memorials were frequently funded by public subscription and in relation to the Dornoch memorial, The Scotsman of August 27, 1923 remarked “One hates to measure sentiment by money, but it is, I think, worthy of mention that this small community raised £1700 for the purpose of erecting, its memorial”.
A tribute indeed to the 435 who served and the 69 who lost their lives, and the esteem in which the community held them (£1700 in 1922 would be worth approximately £103,000 today).
At the service last Friday, pipes were played, prayers were said, wreaths were laid and we had a two minute silence as we remembered the fallen. Young people planted small wooden crosses one for each of the 100 names on the memorial and the Young Curators group from History Links told a little of the story of the memorial.
As I was reading out the names, ranks and services of those who died, the young people from the Dornoch schools were passing in front of me as they queued to plant their crosses. A sobering thought occurred to me – although these young people are younger than those whose names I was reading out, the age difference wasn’t really all that great.
Human Rights Watch reports that, “Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world”. It therefore beholds all of us to work hard to ensure that this generation of young people and future generations can live in the sort of world where going to war and building war memorials is unnecessary.
But for those who have died in conflict we remember them with familiar words from Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the fallen’ first published in 1914:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Rev Canon James Currall is the Episcopal priest in charge of congregations at Tain, Brora, Lairg and Tongue.
