ICYMI: Highland village plaque honours fallen
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A FORGOTTEN wooden war memorial for Dochgarroch’s war dead has been replaced with a specially-commissioned bronze plaque and given pride of place on the wall of the village hall.
A service marked its installation with a congregation including descendants of the eight men and one woman who were all killed during the Second World War.
The ceremony coincided with the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict and the new memorial, which was created by Black Isle Bronze, was commissioned as part of the hall’s renovation.
Ian Barclay, of Inverness, was in attendance after he was surprised to learn that it included the name of his uncle – Lt John Barclay served with the Royal Marines and was killed as part of the Normandy landings in June 1944.
He said: “I’ve lived in Inverness all my life and did not realise there was a plaque sited in Dochgarroch Hall until I received a letter a few weeks ago. My uncle, John Barclay, who I was named after, died three weeks after the D-Day landings and I have visited his grave in Hermanville, France.
“Now, I’ll be able to pay my respects much closer to home at the new bronze plaque installed outside the hall for all to see. It’s a fine tribute to the nine names and their families, and I personally am most grateful to all concerned.”
Those named on the plaque trace a chronicle of the conflict itself, including the Dunkirk evacuation, the London blitz, the retaking of El Alamein and Tripoli, the D-Day landings and the eventual Japanese surrender.
Douglas Yule, who led the research project, revealed it was inspired by the discovery of the only woman on the plaque – Williamina Cumming who was a civil servant. He said: “We discovered remarkable tales of ordinary people who were farmers, gamekeepers, clerks, and policemen – people with families from this area who never saw them return.”
