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Commando war memorial
Town or City: Fort William
County: Argyll and Bute
Country: Scotland
WMT Reference Number: WM2278
Value of grant: £22500.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: Small Grants Scheme
Year: 2021
UKNIWM reference number: 5894
The Commando memorial stands at Spean Bridge in the Highlands. The memorial depicts three commandos in characteristic battledress with heavy ammunition boots, woolen cap comforters and rifles – they are arranged in formation gazing south towards Ben Nevis, surveying the area which was their training ground during World War II. The memorial commemorates fallen Commandos from that conflict.
In 2002 War Memorials Trust contributed £500.00 towards the costs of repairs and landscaping work around the Commando Memorial.
In 2022, a further grant of £22,500 was made through War Memorials Trust Grants Scheme. Specialist conservation works were carried out to the memorial with the bronze group cleaned using ionised water, and a microcrystalline wax applied using soft brushes and buffing between three coats; significantly it was determined that it would not be cleaned using steam thus ensuring that the natural verdigris patina was not compromised. The memorial’s pedestal and surrounding paving were cleaned using a DOFF steam cleaning system. The construction joints of the pedestal and the surrounding paving were carefully raked-out and re-pointed using a lime mortar.
The memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on Saturday 27 September 1952. The group, sculpted by Scott Sutherland, is over nine feet in height and was cast at the foundry of HH Martyn in Cheltenham.
The inscription on the memorial reads:
United we conquer
In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939 – 1945
This country was their training ground.
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM2278
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 5894
Formerly OWM14
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org