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Auchentibber

This memorial comprises a polished granite tablet with black lettering on Sicilian marble. Mounted on a concrete memorial block, with two grey marble pillars supporting the roof.  The memorial is located by the edge of a road on the fringes of Auchentibber.

Through the course World War I a patriotic Roll of Honour was displayed in the Quoits Pavilion in the hamlet of Auchentibber carrying the names of the 37 local men on active service. In 1921, the locals determined that a permanent memorial should be erected to the 14 local men who had given their lives for the cause. Cruelly at this time the nearby Hamilton Palace, the ancestral home of Dukes of Hamilton, widely acknowledged as one of the finest country houses in Europe, in the service of which many of those fallen had worked before the outbreak of war, was being razed to the ground. The vast palace had been used as a naval hospital throughout the war, a loan by the 13th Duke on had fallen into disrepair. With Auchentibber among the settlements in the vicinity of the palace, and with an enormous architectural salvage process underway, elements of the famous old black marble staircase from the palace were purchased by the owner of the local inn Mr Struthers and gifted to the community to be incorporated into the design of a new war memorial. In addition, a large slab of Sicilian marble was also gifted by Mr Struthers and incised with the names of the fallen. The memorial was pieced together to form the design we see today standing sixteen feet tall and nine feet wide, and located behind the historic Italianate Quoiting Green in Auchentibber.

A crowd of six thousand or more gathered for the memorial’s dedication in May1923 with a contemporary account noting that following an unveiling service conducted by Lord Belhaven, wreath laying in total silence and a prayer of dedication, a lament by the pipers was played after which buglers from the Hamilton barracks sounded ‘The Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’. A choir then sang the Hallelujah Chorus and Mr Struthers, the guiding force behind the memorial on whose land the memorial had been built, handed over the title deeds to the ground to the Parish Council Chairman ‘as a sacred trust ever to keep green the memory of those who have fallen’ with the words we are “just a wee place, but we’ve done our best”. In reply the Chairman gave his assurance that the memorial would be well cared for, expressing the hope that locals would ensure it was maintained in good condition so that it might be handed down from generation to generation in a state of good order. The second paraphrase and the Benediction were followed by the singing of the National Anthem.

Over the passing century the memorial had become increasingly challenging to access and proposals to relocate the structure were mooted. Set by the side of what was once a quiet country road at the edge of a bustling hamlet, by 2018 the adjacent single carriageway road was busy with cars, tractors and HGVs and stopping was near impossible. This combined with over a century of population-decline following World War I and the demise of the Dukedom that the hamlet had once served the memorial, whilst not forgotten, was increasingly inaccessible and presented those wishing to commemorate the Fallen with something of a challenge in reaching the site. In addition to this, the volume of traffic was compromising the memorial structurally with cracking and subsidence becoming an increasing concern. In addition to this, ornamental details from the memorial were damaged and missing whilst the corrosion of support elements within the structure had caused structural cracking. A report commissioned by South Lanarkshire Council in 2014 highlighted the issues and whilst consulting with War Memorials Trust, it became evident that the memorial would require dismantling to address the structural problems. At this time proposals were also mooted to relocate the memorial to a more suitable location however, following dialogue with War Memorials Trust and local input informed by research into the history of the memorial’s siting, it was decided that the memorial should remain in precisely its current location.

A conservation-accredited professional was appointed by the applicant and in August 2018 a grant offer of £30,000 was made through War Memorials Trust Grants Scheme supported by the First World War Memorials Programme. This grant was made towards works to have the whole memorial dismantled and reconstructed, strengthening the foundations and internal support of the structure. Works also included the reinstatement of missing architectural features and repainting of the dedication plaque. In addition South Lanarkshire Council funded the re-landscaping of the memorial to improve the overall site appearance and access including the introduction of discrete vehicle access adjacent to the site. Due consideration was also given to the planting of the site with the decision to incorporate yew and laurel hedging informed by the vocabulary of commemoration. Works were completed in time for November 2018 Centenary commemorations.

As well as enormous appreciation locally, in the months since works were completed, online forums have shown that far from forgotten, many motorists using the road had actually for many years, been saddened to see the decline of the memorial and are now publicly expressing their delight at seeing the transformative works. How rewarding for those involved to know of the ‘sleeping’ support for our war memorial heritage.

Erected by the People of Auchentibber in Proud and Loving Memory of Their Glorious Dead 1914-1919 (Names) "Greater Love Hath No Man than This That a Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends"

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM7935
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 6002

War Memorials Online: 148555

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

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