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Isle of Lewis

This war memorial, constructed of granite and rising to a height of over 85 feet, comprises a Scots Baronial tower with heavy buttressing to first stage. The dressed stone work is of fine axed Aberdeenshire granite, the walls are of native Gneiss and the floors are of reinforced concrete. The structure’s walls are tapering and are surmounted by a corbelled parapet. A circular turret with castellated parapet is sited at one corner. Internally, the tower is divided into an arched entrance chamber 20 feet high, and four upper chambers accessed by square and circular steel stairs and by granite turnpike stairs to the turret. A separate chamber was allotted to each of the four parishes of Lewis, these formerly contained bronze name plaques listing the Fallen of the island, which were subsequently removed are mounted on large granite boulders, arranged on a circular plan on a site immediately adjacent to the memorial structure. There are 16 World War I plaques and 7 World War II plaques in total.

In 2016 a grant of £132,100 was offered for repair and conservation works to the memorial to address building problems including water ingress, internal water retention, failing pointing, and general decay resulting in closure of access to the public . Works to the memorial included the removal of cementitious mortars from the structure internally and externally. The memorial was repointed using a lime mortar. Works also included the replacement of 15 slim windows with new louvres to improve ventilation and refurbishment of four windows on the fourth floor. Failing lead and timber to the roof structure were replaced on a like-for-like basis and the damaged lightning protection system was replaced.

A public meeting was held in Stornoway in January 1920 with the aim of preserving the memory of the 1,151 Lewismen known to made the supreme sacrifice. An Appeals Committee was established and from January to July 1920, the pages of the Stornoway Gazette carried advertisements appealing for subscriptions towards the building costs of a suitable memorial. The response was overwhelming. A competition for the design of the memorial was held and the winning entrant was chosen as Mr J.H.Gall of Inverness. At a total cost of £4,000, the project transpired to be much more modest than first expected. On Friday 24 September 1924, over two thousand witnessed the unveiling of the Memorial by Lord Leverhulme. The Lewis Remembrance Thanksgiving Fund with the Lewis Branch of the Royal British Legion took commissioned Charles Henshaw & Sons Ltd, of Edinburgh, to produce additional bronze plaques following World War II. On 13 September 1958, General Sir Richard O'Connor, the Lord Lieutenant of Ross & Cromarty, unveiled the seven new plaques representing the Divisions of Lewis.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM7862
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 8845

War Memorials Online: 145004

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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