First Minister announces second tranche of Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund
Communities from Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway will share a pot of more than £100,000 to restore war memorials as part of the Scottish Government’s WWI commemoration programme.
First Minister Alex Salmond today announced that £103,535 will being awarded to ten memorials across Scotland. These are:
- Glasgow City: Kelvingrove Park (£26,250) and Gorbals (£4,500)
- Edinburgh City: Leith (£6,672)
- Dumfries and Galloway: Moffat (£1,728) and Kirkconnel (£3,375)
- Fife: Cupar (£17,901)
- Stirling: Stirling city centre (£29,853)
- East Lothian: Crookston near Wallyford (£2,115)
- Highland: Creich near Bonar Bridge in Sutherland (£10,693)
- Shetland Islands: Fair Isle (£448)
The Centenary Memorials Fund has helped 13 projects so far and applications can still be made to help the repair and conservation Scotland’s war memorials. The £1 million fund is a central part of the Scottish Government programme commemorating the centenary of WWI.
The First Minister said:
“Scotland, in common with so many other nations, suffered an appalling loss of life in the Great War, and its effects on Scottish life were profound and long-lasting.
“Scotland’s war memorials are a lasting tribute to fallen service men and women and it is hugely important that they are maintained. We owe it to the names inscribed on these memorials as well as the families they’ve left behind to keep monuments in a proud condition, reflecting the respect they deserve.
“War monuments play a central role in educating our young people about the ultimate sacrifice members of their community have paid in conflicts throughout the generations.
“I am delighted to announce more than £100,000 to repair and preserve our war memorials and I would encourage more communities all over Scotland to apply to the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund to help keep these monuments a central and permanent reminder of fallen service men and women now and for generations.”
Frances Moreton, Director of War Memorials Trust, said:
“We are delighted with the latest announcement of grants through the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund. These awards are making a significant difference to the protection and conservation of war memorials in Scotland and the memory of the fallen commemorated by them. War Memorials Trust encourages anyone considering a repair or conservation project to get in touch and see if your local war memorial might benefit from a grant in the next few years.”
Councillor Sadie Docherty, Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council, said:
“I am delighted War Memorials Trust has agreed to fund the restoration of one of Glasgow’s most iconic war memorials; the ‘A’ listed equestrian bronze monument to Earl Frederick Sleigh Roberts V.C. which stands proudly in Kelvingrove Park.
“A serving soldier for more than fifty years, Roberts rose through the ranks to become the head of the armed services and died during World War 1 during the retreat from the Marne, aged 82. This magnificent monument to commemorate this iconic hero was built by public subscription from the grateful people of Glasgow and unveiled in 1916.
“This project will complement Glasgow’s commemoration of the centenary of World War I, and will also complement wider investment in Kelvingrove Park planned in preparation for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“I would also like to offer my sincere thanks to War Memorials Trust for their financial support on another Glasgow project which is dear to my heart – the restoration of the Gorbals war memorial to James Stokes, a Glasgow recipient of the Victoria Cross.”
Sonya Linskaill, manager at Stirling City Heritage Trust, said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded a Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund grant towards the conservation of this important memorial in the heart of Stirling City Centre. The Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund provides a special opportunity to repair and conserve this Memorial ensuring that it remains as a fitting testament to those who gave their lives from Stirling in these major conflicts”
Details of round two funded projects are:
- Kirkconnel, Main Street, Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway (WM6003) Grant offer: £3,375. The foundations supporting the path around the memorial are in ‘Poor’ condition and as a result of structural movement the surface of the path has cracked. In addition the path kerb stones have been extensively damaged. The grant funding will help fund the repair and replacement of the brick foundations and path surface. This work will include the replacement of damaged kerb stones. Details of memorial can be found at www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/141471
- Moffat, High Street, Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway (WM3814): Grant offer £1,728.Water is getting into the memorial through gaps left by cracks or missing mortar. In addition, the corrosion of the internal fixings of bronze finial and the bronze itself have combined to leave the memorial in a ‘Poor’ condition. The grant offered will support works which include the removal of cracked or missing mortar joints and the re-pointing of the memorial using a lime mortar. The bronze finial is to be cleaned and treated and the internal fixings are to be replaced in stainless steel to ensure the finial is secured. Details of memorial can be found at www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/141351
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