PERTHSHIRE ADVERTISER: 21.05.1924
UNVEILING OF BLAIR ATHOLL WAR MEMORIAL
A STRIKING REMEMBRANCE FOR THE HIGHLANDS’ GLORIOUS DEAD
THE DUKE’S TRIBUTE
REV. A. A. STRATHEARN ON PATRIOTISM
Blair Atholl on Sunday followed the lead set by nearly every parish in Perthshire when the Great War Memorial was unveiled by the Laird, His Grace the Duke of Atholl, K.T., who was accompanied by the Duchess of Atholl, M.P. A large and representative assembly attended the solemn ceremony which took place in glorious sunshine. It was indeed a picturesque scene, everything calm and peaceful and beautiful to look upon.
The memorial, which stands in a piece of ground formerly within the policies of Blair Castle, on a prominent site next to the main North Road, opposite the Atholl Arms Hotel, takes the form of a massive monolith of natural rock which was hewn from Craigy Barns Hill, on the Atholl Estates near Dunkeld, by the Duke of Atholl himself, and has been erected in its simple natural state. It is set in heather, and the surrounding space - in the form of a half eclipse - has been paved in stone, while in the north boundary wall have been placed two bronze tablets which bear the names of the 47 men from the parish who made the supreme sacrifice. The monolith itself bears simply the specific dates “1914-1918”.
The names inscribed include that of the Duke of Atholl’s brother, Major Lord George Stewart Murray, and twenty other rank and file of the Black Watch, the historic Territorial Regiment.
Shortly after the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Atholl, the Atholl pipers marched along the main road with a martial air, and the service was inaugurated with the singing of the 2nd Paraphrase, followed by the Lords Prayer to the lead of the Rev. Donald Lamont, Parish Church.
In the course of a short narrative Mr D. D. MacDonald, convenor, of the committee, said that shortly after the declaration of peace it was decided that some form of memorial should be erected in memory of the parish heroes who gave their lives for their country. He had the honour of being appointed the convenor of the committee appointed to carry out the arrangements. There were three points which required their attention, and these created considerable difficulty. The first was the form which the memorial should take, the site, and the question of finance. The first two difficulties were very well and happily got over through the kind assistance of His Grace the Duke of Atholl, who provided them with a splendid site, and sketched out a plan which he thought they would agree had been a happy inspiration in carrying out the idea intended. In regard to finance they depended upon the people of the parish and also on the men and women of Atholl who had gone from every part of the country. They had very solid assistance from home and abroad and their difficulties were solved in that way to the extent that he was happy to say the memorial would be unveiled by His Grace free of debt.
The Duke of Atholl then unveiled the twenty-ton boulder with these words:- “I unveil this memorial to the glory of God and to the memory of those who fell in the cause of honour, liberty and humanity.
The prayer of Dedication was offered by the Rev. Mr Lamont, after which His Grace the Duke of Atholl, in the course of a short address said:- “I have been asked to unveil this memorial to the memory of the men of the parish of Blair Atholl who fell in the Great War. It is unnecessary to name them, for their names are not forgotten in the place of their birth. It is also unnecessary to recapitulate their services, for the fact we are here today, free men in a free country, is sufficient testimony to all that their sacrifice meant.
Some may think that we have been long in erecting this memorial, but the time that has elapsed since the end of the war has given us a better perspective of what it is we want to remember and of what it is we want to forget. It is not was and bloodshed and hate, with all their monstrosities, that we want to think of when we look at this memorial, but that rather great altruistic spirit of sacrifice, loyalty, and mutual co-operation in an great cause for great ends, that were shown not only by those whose names appear on the tablets, but by the national in general, at that time.
In a Highland parish all are known to each other, all are friends, and the loss of one is the loss of all. The grip given to me, just before leaving for the front, by one who well knew what he had to face, and the words ‘Goodbye, I am Infantry and I shall not come back’. Perhaps as cavalry you may. But it is a big thing, and I do not grudge it, were but emblematic of the spirit which imbued not only one but every lad from this part of the world, whether he returned or not to his native land.
Those who selected this form of memorial stone considered that the best handicraft of man could not be as adequate a one as this great, simple stone, though it is a small mite of the work of the Creator, and they felt that it would stand here for generations to come as a token of steadfastness in time of adversity, and would be in harmony with the surrounding hills and with the characters and traditions of the people who dwelt among them.
We felt that beyond the dates no graven word was necessary: but had we chosen a motto I think it might well have been:-
‘Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie
Glad did I live, and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me -
Here he lies where he longed to be
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill’.
What was mortal of your old comrades may rest on foreign soil, but round this stone will be something spiritual, more everlasting and more glorious, and which will remain an inspiration and a guide to those who come after. It is not for us to mourn and to grudge, but rather to be proud, and thankful to God that when the call came, they were found ready”.
The Atholl slow march was played as a lament by the pipers of the Atholl Highlanders, under Pipe-Major Alex. Stewart.
The ex-servicemen paraded at the scene under Lord James Stewart Murray; Scottish Horsemen under Sergeant-Major M’Arthur; and there were companies of Boy Scouts and school pupils.
Several beautiful wreaths were placed at the base of the memorial by relatives of the fallen, and the singing of the National Anthem terminated a most impressive service.
The names of the men inscribed on either side of the memorial are:-
MAJOR LORD GEORGE STEWART MURRAY, BLACK WATCH; SECOND LIEUTENANTS ALEX. FRASER AND ROBERT BARBOUR WHYTE; SERGEANTS (1) WILLIAM ROBERTSON AND (2) WILLIAM ROBERTSON; CORPORAL NORMAN NICOLSON, PRIVATES WM. ROSS, ALEX. BISSETT, WM. BLAIR, ANDREW CAMPBELL, WM. GORDON, JAS. GOW, CHAS. GRAY, GEO. HOGG, NORMAN M’DONALD, ROBERT M’DOUGALL, JAS. M’GREGOR, WM. M’KENZIE, DONALD M’LEAN, GEO. REID, AND DUNCAN ROBERTSON, BLACK WATCH; SERGEANT JOHN SEATON AND TROOPER ALEX. THOMSON, SCOTTISH HORSE; TROOPER ALISTER RITCHIE, THE GREYS; MAJOR REGINALD GORDON, D.S.O., SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN M. LAMB, AND GUNNER JOHN ROBERTSON, R.F.A.; LIEUTENANT ROBERT MAULE AND PRIVATE ALEX. ROBERTSON, R. SCOTS; PRIVATE ALEX. REID, R. WARWICK REGIMENT; PRIVATE HECTOR CUMMING, K.O.S.B.; LIEUTENANT WILLIAM ROSE AND PRIVATE JOHN BAIRD, H.L.I.; CAPT. GEO. T. MORRISON, M.C., SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN CHRISTIE, PRIVATE DONALD GOW, AND PRIVATE MALCOLM M’NAUGHTON, SEAFORTHS; PRIVATE PETER M’INTOSH AND PRIVATE ALEX. RENWICK, GORDONS; CORPORAL CHAS. JAMES CAMPBELL, C.Q.M.S. ROBERT ROSS, AND PRIVATE CHARLES REID, CAMERONS; PRIVATE ALEX. D. STEWART, R.D. FUSILIERS; GUNNERS JOHN M’DOUGALL AND JAS. ROBERTSON, M.G.C.; LIEUTENANT DONALD CAMPBELL, R.A.M.C.; PRIVATE JOHN M’KAY, CANADIAN SC.
The memorial was erected by Mr Robert Robertson, Aldclune, whose son, Sergeant Robertson, was one of the forty-seven victims, while the Clerk of Works was Mr Shirran.
After the unveiling service a united service was held in the Parish Church where there was a crowded congregation. An address on true patriotism was given by the Rev. A. A. Strathearn, the lesson being read by the Rev. D. Lamont. A special collection was taken on behalf of the Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops for ex-servicemen.