THE ALYTH GUARDIAN: 14.07.1922 IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN ALYTH WAR MEMORIAL UNVEILED BY THE EARL OF AIRLIE A MEMORABLE DAY Last Sunday afternoon at a deeply impressive ceremony, and in presence of almost a thousand people, Alyth War Memorial, erected at the Market Muir to the honour and memory of the 121 men of the district who fell in the Great War, was unveiled by the Earl of Airlie, M.C. It is a beautiful and dignified monument, a worthy memorial to the fallen. The finely masoned pedestal is of Camperdown stone, the four sides bearing panels in bronze with the names of the fallen. On the north side, facing the entrance to the enclosure, is the dedication tablet, of chaste design and surrounded with laurel leaves, also in bronze, the memorial being dedicated to these words:- IN PROUD AND LOVING MEMORY OF THE MEN FROM THIS DISTRICT WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919 THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE Surmounting the pedestal is a large and beautifully modelled crouching victory figure in bronze. A smaller winged victory figure is held in the right hand of the larger figure, and a sheathed sword in the left. It is a rare piece of statuary, full of symbolism and meaning. The whole is enclosed in an octagonal railed-in space. The monument stands to a height of 18 feet, with a fine lay-out extending to 36 feet. The site of the memorial in the angle of the Muir formed by the junction of the roads, and at the end of the long vista of South Airlie Street and Airlie Street has been well chosen, and the whole scheme has a well-balanced, pleasing, and dignified appearance. Prior to the ceremony of unveiling and dedication the members of public bodies and organisations marched in procession from the market Square. The company that set out to the Muir was very large and representative of then community. In front were the schoolchildren and their teachers, under Mr John Reid; followed in order by the Girl Guides commanded by Lady Ogilvy Wedderburn of Ruthven, District Commissioner, and Captain Pattullo, Langlogie; Boys’ Brigade, under captain H. Z. Robertson and Lieut. M’Gill, and headed by Piper Sivewright; Wolf Cubs, under Miss Buick, Burnview; Boy Scouts, under Scoutmaster D. J. R. Bell, The Balloch; a company of 80 ex-service men, commanded by Captain Cargill, Glenree, and headed by Alyth Silver Band, under Bandmaster J. Walker; members of the Town and Parish Councils, School Management Committee, the memorial Committee, and the general public. At the Muir the company was grouped round three sides of the monument, an enclosure being reserved on the east side for the parents and immediate relatives of the fallen. The Earl of Airlie, who was accompanied by the Countess; the members of the Memorial Committee; the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Councillors; members of the parish Council and the School Management Committee; and the four ministers, stood around the north steps of the monument. Sergt. T. Sidey and Pte. G. Donald, in the uniform of the Black Watch, mounted guard on the monument during the service, which was curtailed owing to the rain. The service opened with Scripture sentences read by rev. H. B. Nichol, St. Ninian’s Episcopal Church, and Rev. John Haggart North U. F. Church, engaged in prayer. Thereafter the whole gathering joined in singing the hymn, “Our God, our help in ages past”, to the tune ‘St. Anne’. EX-Provost D. A. Sandilands, Logie Park, then introduced the earl of Airlie. I have the honour, he said, to introduce to you the head of the House of Airlie, but the relationship between our community and the House of Airlie has been and is of such a nature that it is quite unnecessary for any formal introduction. The House of Airlie has been justly famed for its valour. The present Earl has won distinction on the field. His father gave his life for his country, and his brother also made the supreme sacrifice along with the men whose names appear on this monument. We deeply appreciate the kindness of the earl of Airlie in coming here today to unveil the memorial that we have erected to the men who gave their lives that we might live. I hope in the future that this memorial will remind us of the great sacrifice that was made for us, and that in some measure we will be worthy of that sacrifice. It is only by righteousness that a nation can be exalted. It may be that the reason for some of our troubles and problems is that, like the Israelites of old, we, as a nation, have to a certain extent ignored God, the preserver of all life, and sometimes gone on without Him. The Israelites forgot God, and calamities befell them, for the nation that forgets God and forgets the services rendered by its sons to preserve it must go down. This monument reminds us of the great sacrifice of our men to preserve us in peace and safety. The earl of Airlie, in a touching address delivered before he unveiled the monument said:- Ex-Provost and people of Alyth, my first duty is to thank you for the great honour which you have done me in asking me to unveil your memorial. I feel it to be a great honour and justly proud of it. May this beautiful memorial for those who fell in the Great War serve as a reminder to you and to all of us of what they gave for their country and for us, and may it remind us of that great debt we owe to them. May this memorial, whenever we see it, make us strive with all our hearts, each in his own way, to try to make ourselves and this country worthy of that great sacrifice made by our men”. Mr John Yeaman, Town Clerk, Hon. Secretary to the memorial Committee, read the names of the fallen, as under:- THE ROYAL NAVY ENG.LIEUT COMMANDER WM. H. CLEGHORN H.B. HUGH GRANT R.N.D. H.G.A.B. JOHN GRANT R.N.D. A.B. DAVIDSON MORRIS R.N.D. THE ARMY MAJOR A.B. HIGGON CHEVALIER OF THE LEGION OF HONOUR CAPTAIN HERBERT S. CLEGHORN CAPTAIN THE HON. PATRICK OGILVY, M.C. LIEUT. ARCHIBALD DENROCHE-SMITH SECOND LIEUT. ALLAN J. CLEGHORN COY. SERGT. MAJOR GEORGE MILLER SERGT. W. MACDONALD SERGT. DAVID BUICK, M.M. SERGT. JOHN LOTHIAN SERGT. PETER MITCHELL, M.M. CPL. G.Y. EDWARD CPL. JAMES FERRIER CPL. JOHN HONEY CPL. WILLIAM LOW CPL. ALEXANDER MACDONALD CPL. WILLIAM M'PHERSON CPL. WILLIAM A. MITCHELL L CPL. ROBERT ANDERSON L CPL. THOMAS HENDERSON L CPL. ALEXANDER MELVILLE L CPL. JAME P. MEECHIE L CPL. JOHN SINCLAIR L CPL. JOHN T. TASKER L CPL. ROBERT THYNE L CPL. ROBERT WATSON PTE JOHN ADAM PTE. ANDREW ANDERSON PTE. CHARLES ANDERSON PTE. DAVID M. ANDERSON PTE. ROBERT ANGUS SPR. JAMES BAIN PTE. LAURENCE DE BONO PTE. JAMES F. BROWN PTE. THOMAS CARGILL PTE. JAMES P. CARRUTHERS PTE. ALEXANDER CLARK PTE. CHARLES CLARK PTE. ALEXANDER COCHRANE PTE. GEORGE CORBETT PTE. WILLIAM COVENTRY PTE. GEORGE CRAM PTE. DONALD DAVIDSON PTE. WILLIAM DENHOLM PTE. THOMAS DICKSON PTE. WILLIAM DOIG PTE. ALEXANDER DUFF PTE. JAMES FEARN PTE. ROBERT FERGUSON PTE. WILLIAM FERGUSON PTE. ROBERT FINDLAY PTE. THOMAS FRASER PTE. DAVID H. GALLOWAY SPR. WILLIAM GALLOWAY PTE. WILLIAM GRAHAM PTE. JAMES GRAY PTE. ARTHUR GUTHRIE PTE. ROBERT M. HAGGART PTE. ROBERT M. HASTIE PTE. JOHN HENDERSON PTE. ANDREW HENDRY PTE. ROBERT HOWIE PTE. JOHN KIDD PTE. JAMES LESLIE PTE. JOHN LOWDON PTE. GEORGE M'KIDDIE PTE. THOMAS MANDS SPR. EDWARD MARTIN PTE. GEORGE MELVILLE PTE. ARCHIBALD MILNE BDR. JAMES MILNE PTE. JOHN MORRIS PTE. ALEXANDER NELSON PTE. ROBERT B. NEWTON PTE. JAMES L. NICHOLSON PTE. ROBERT B. NEWTON PTE. ROBERT E. ORAM PTE. ALEXANDER REID PTE. WILLIAM J. REID PTE. WILLIAM ROBB SPR. DAVID ROBERTSON PTE. WILLIAM ROLLO PTE. GEORGE M. ROSS PTE. JAMES SHANKS PTE. JAMES SHAW PTE. WILLIAM SIDEY PTE. JAMES SILVER PTE. ALEXANDER SMITH BDR. JOHN SMITH PTE. FRED SOUTAR PTE. ROBERT SMITH PTE. W. M. SPALDING PTE. DONALD STEWART PTE. JAMES STEWART PTE. CHARLES STURROCK SPR. WILLIAM STURROCK PTE. ANDREW W. SYMINGTON PTE. ALEXANDER K. THOMSON PTE. JAMES TOD PTE. JAMES WHYTE GNR. WILLIAM WHYTE PTE. GEORGE WILSON PTE. JAMES WILSON PTE. THOMAS WOOD AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE PTE. THOMAS FLEMING PTE. ANGUS W. MITCHELL CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE LIEUT. DAVID GIBSON COY. SERGT. MJR. CHARLES M. WHYTE CPL. ALEXANDER SMITH PTE. ROBERT BROWN PTE. GEORGE B. GORDON PTE. JOHN M'PHERSON PTE. JOHN G. REID PTE. DAVID ROBB PTE. ROBERT SHAW. PTE. H. STUART PTE. JOHN WILKIE NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITIONARY FORCE PTE. ROBERT SHANKS Rev. James Meikle, B.D., Parish Church, then dedicated the memorial to prayer:- “To Thy glory and in perpetual memory of our fallen brothers, who gave their lives in defence of right, we dedicate this memorial. Out of proud and grateful hearts to Thee we do this; out of hearts full of thankfulness to Thee for the men Thou raised up, willing to stand between our land and ruin, who gave their lives that others might live, and we thank Thee for their faith that could remove mountains and subdue kingdoms. We pray that the memory of these man be be evermore dear unto us. May our gratitude never diminish and decay…. May this monument, raised to valour and sacrifice, brotherhood and discipline, and endurance even unto death, provoke us to love, unselfishness, and loyalty…. Deliver us and those who come after us from the spirit and spell of selfishness…. Guide the nations henceforth that they may turn their spears into pruning hooks, and their swords into plough shares, and learn war no more….” Pipe-Major Arthur M. Lamond, Newtyle, played the lament, ‘Flowers o’ the Forest’, during which the guard stood with arms reversed. ‘The Last Post’ was then sounded by Mr John Walker, and, after a pause, ‘Reveille’ by Mr Campbell Walker, the guard presenting arms. Provost W. B. Inglis, Barony Hall, then handed over the memorial to the keeping of the Parish Council. He said:- “I speak for you all today. We have gathered together these everlasting stones. We have raised on high this imperishable and handsome memorial. Today by our prayers and by our tears it is sanctified and made sacred to the memory of our dead. We have built this memorial so that all men may see and know that our hearts are filled with gratitude to these of our men of our own district who went out from amongst us, clad in battle harness, into the four corners of the world, and there died that we might live in freedom and in peace. May they rest in peace. These are the things we have done, and there is only one other thing left for us to do - to see that this memorial is adequately guarded in all years to come. I therefore ask Mr James Murray, Chairman of the parish Council, and his colleagues, and we could hand it into their keeping this memorial which we, the people of this district, have erected in proud and loving memory of our dead. Mr J. F. Murray, Elm Grove, accepted custody on behalf of the Council. "Standing as this memorial will be for centuries", he said, "as a silent yet eloquent witness to the sufferings and sacrifice of those brave young men whose names it bears, I trust that Parish Councils of the future, whoever they may be, will guard and maintain and preserve it as a sacred trust". Rev. James Holburn, South U.F. Church, pronounced the Benediction, and the service, which throughout was most impressive, concluded with the National Anthem. Over thirty beautiful floral wreaths were placed at the base of the monument from the public bodies and Societies of the town and relatives of the fallen. On behalf of the Town Council, Provost Inglis placed the first wreath. Among others the wreaths were from the earl and Countess of Airlie, the Dowager Countess of Airlie, Alyth Parish Council, Alyth Bowling and Tennis Clubs, British Women’s Temperance Association, the ex-service men, Alyth Masonic Lodge, Alyth Golf Club, the teachers and scholars of the Public School, Girl Guides, Boys Brigade, Boy Scouts, Edward’s Stores &c. After the ceremony the earl of Airlie inspected the Boy Scouts, Wolf Cubs, Girl Guides, Boys Brigade, and ex-service men, who paraded the Market Muir. The victory figure was designed and modelled by Mr Kellock Brown, sculptor, Glasgow. The casting being carried out in Brussels. Messrs Wright & Wylie, architects, Glasgow, designed the pedestal and lay-out, the work being executed by Messrs T. Howie & Co., builders, Alyth.