Holytown District

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Reference WMO/158806

Address:

234 Edinburgh Road

Holytown

ML1 4TJ

Scotland

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Status: On subsequent site(s)
Type: Freestanding
Location: External
Setting: Roadside
Description: Serviceman/woman sculpture
Materials:
  • Stone Granite
Lettering: Leaded
Conflicts:
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
  • Korean War (1950-1953)
About the memorial: A life size kilted soldier bearing full kit, on tapering plinth and three stepped base. The Memorial Gardens in Holytown, North Lanarkshire which include a War Memorial to commemorate the men of Holytown district who fell in the Great War 1914-18 were opened at a ceremony which took place on Sunday 9th April 1933. The War Memorial and gardens were unveiled by Alexander Whitelaw Esq. from nearby Woodhall Estate. As was the case with many War Memorials at this time, the memorial was paid for by funds raised by public subscription, and the grounds on which the gardens laid out, were gifted by a local benefactor. The memorial consists of a kilted soldier on a tapering plinth and stepped base, constructed in Killembreck granite by Glasgow firm Messer Scott & Rae sculptures and built by local building firm James Patterson and Son. Established in 1881 by George Scott (1845-1903) and Robert Rae (1845-1910) the firm Scott and Rae produced a huge number of monuments for sites throughout Scotland and the UK. The monuments’ were often carved in grey granite from the firms Killemabreck quarry. Scott and Rae supplied the Killemabreck granite used to build the cenotaph in Glasgow’s George Square. The historic photograph reveals a pristine gardens, with neatly edged planting beds, and gravel surfaced paths set slightly below the grass verges. Originally the gardens were laid out above a burn. Visitors to the gardens looked beyond the burn to the church elevated on the adjacent ridgeline. The church’s graveyard included the Whitelaw family mausoleum, and was linked to Woodhall Estate by a drive lined with beech trees. The Woodhall House is long gone. The estate drive which once linked the house to Holytown church was first dissected by the M8 Motorway, and subsequently erased by a business park. Recently the last remaining trees were removed to make way for a housing development. The War Memorial has always occupied a raised corner of the Memorial Gardens, somewhat separate from the gardens themselves. The soldier faces away from the gardens, towards the village. Rather than occupying a site within the gardens, the memorial has a prominent location next to the old Glasgow to Edinburgh road for all to see. In 2009 North Lanarkshire Council oversaw the relocation of the memorial. The project involved improving the setting to the War Memorial which had been compromised by the continuous raising of the adjacent road. This meant that the sunken area surrounding the memorial was prone to waterlogging and had become compromised by a patchwork of surfaces. The memorial was rebuilt in a raised area of imported granite paving. The curved retaining wall between the memorial and the memorial gardens was rebuilt with Locharbriggs red sandstone from Dumfries and new railings installed by a local metalworker. The original railings included a heart shaped detail which was replicated in the replacement railings. The restoration works undertaken to the memorial included pining together the soldier’s gun which was in six separate pieces, together with reinstating and painting the pin letters commemorating the names of the fallen. Local pupils from Christ the King primary school contributed to a time capsule which was placed inside the plinth during the rebuilding of the memorial and also attended the opening of the refurbished memorial.
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Face 1-IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF HOLYTOWN DISTRICT/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918/ ERECTED 1921 Faces 2 and 3 -(names) Face 4-SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945/[names]/KOREA/[name]

WW1- Hugh Adair, K.O.S.B. Pte./ Arch. Alexander, 2nd B.W. Pte./ John Nelson Allan, R.F.A. Dvr./ John Anderson, 6th S.R. Pte./ Thos. Neilson Blackwood, R.A.M.C. Cpl./ Robert Black, 2nd H.L.I. L.Cpl./ William Black 2nd H.L.I. Sgt./ John Boden, B.W. Pte./ Alexander Brown, 2nd H.L.I. Pte./ Rev. J.E. Cattral, R.A.M.C. Q.M.S./ William Nicol Clark, 9th H.L.I. S.B./ Thomas Coleman M.M. 10th G.H. Sgt./ John Dickson, 10th G.H. Pte./ Daniel Dobbie, S.H. Pte./ Robert Ellwood, G.H. Pte./ Ewan Fraser, 9th H.L.I. L.Cpl./ James Saywood, R.S.P. Pte./ Patrick Gibney, 1st R.Dub.Fus. Pte./ William Gill, R.E. Sapr./ John Russell Grant, 5th S.R. Lieut./ Chas. Greenshields, Australians Pte./ James Greenshields, 1st B.W. Pte./ George Henderson, K.R.R. Pte./ Matthew Jack, R.E. Sapr./ Wm. Jolly Junr. 6th S.R. Pte./ Frank Kennedy, 18th H.L.I. Pte./ Thomas Kennedy, 11th H.L.I. Pte./ Thomas Kerr, Canadians S.Maj./ William Kirkby, 8th B.W. L.Cpl./ William Lambie, G.H. Pte./ John Leitch, R.N.D. A.B./ John Lennox, 10th B.W. Pte./ Alex. Livingston, 9th B.W. Pte./ Michael McGrady, K.O.S.B. Pte/ George McGraw, 1st H.L.I. Pte./ James McGraw, 11th H.L.I. Pte./ William McGuire, 10th G.H. Pte./ John MaMahon, 2nd C.H. Pte./ Robert Murphy, 9th S.R. Pte./ Alex Paterson M.M. 1/5th G.H. Cpl./ Thos. James Paterson, 1/8th S.R. Pte./ James Berry, 10th H.L.I. Pte. (out of se/quence?)/ James Keir Pyper, 10th H.L.I. Pte./ Thomas Porteous, N.Zealanders Cpl./ John Rodger, 13th H.L.I. Pte./ James W. Ronnie, R.A.M.C. Pte./ Alexander Russell, 13th H.L.I. Pte./ Matthew Smith, 10th C.H. Pte./ William J. Stewart, 18th H.L.I. Cpl./ Robert Sommerville, Sct.Guards Pte./ Edward Trainer, 10th S.H. Pte./ John Traquair, 6th S.R. Pte./ James Watson, 3rd C.H. Pte./ William Wilson, R.S.F. Pte./ John Young, 2nd B.W. Pte./ Robert Brown, 1st Sct.Guards Pte./ WW2- Wlliam Brown/ Peter Dolski/ Robert P. Donald/ Henry Ferguson/ Walter Gilchrist/ Frank Gilmour/ Andrew Laughlan/ Edward Laughlan/ Robebty Laughlan/ Joseph Little/ James McKay/ William Murray/ John Pawilonis/ Robert Whitelaw/ KOREA- Hugh McBride

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