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Balmaghie Parish WWI

Although Balmaghie Parish Church is no longer a place of worship, the war memorial plaque built into the outside wall of the church, remains prominent and is the focal point of the community’s commemorations. The condition of the sandstone memorial had deteriorated over time in part due to the elevated and exposed positioning of the church.

In 2018 a grant of £1,665 was made through the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund towards conservation and repair works to the memorial. The grant assisted works to carve and indent new sandstone into the lost area. The stone was cleaned using a specialist steam system and the construction joints were repointed using a lime mortar. Small repairs to the surface of the stone were undertaken using a lime mortar consolidant.

Soon after the signing of the Armistice a committee was appointed to make arrangements for a Memorial to the fallen from the parish assisted by the eminent artist E A Hornel. The memorial was designed by Alex Carrick ARSA and erected by Messrs Carruthers & Thomson, builders, Crossmichael. Prior to the unveiling of the Memorial on Sunday 13 June 1920, a service was conducted in the church by Rev W A Mowat and in front of a very large congregation Professor H M B Reid, a former minister of the church, performed the unveiling ceremony and dedication. The Last Post and the French Reveille were then sounded by Bugler Burnie, Castle Douglas and Piper Graham, Dalbeattie. At the conclusion of the service Rev W A Mowat read the names of the fallen.

The inscription reads: Pro Patria/ To The Glory Of God And In/ Memory Of Those Who Laid/ Down Their Lives In The/ Great War 1914 - 1919/ Their Name Liveth For Evermore Left And Right Hand Sides: (Names)

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM9349
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 44354

War Memorials Online: 161429

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

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