National accolade for Nairn War Memorial
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The war memorial in Nairn was among the winners of a national prize recognising the best kept monuments of its kind in Scotland.
Royal British Legion Scotland has announced that the Nairn War Memorial won the Best Kept War Memorial Competition in the Large Community With Gardens category.
Competition winners gathered at the Lady Haig Poppy Factory to be presented awards by Robert Aldridge, the Right Hon Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh.
Dr Claire Armstrong, CEO for Legion Scotland, said: “The Best Kept War Memorial Competition is a hugely important part of our annual events calendar. It is always wonderful to see entries coming in from across the country.
“The commitment and work that goes into looking after our memorials across Scotland should be applauded.
“The 2023 winners should all be hugely proud of what they have achieved, and it has been a pleasure to recognise their accomplishments with the presentations at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory.
“Congratulations to all those who participated this year.”
The competition, now in its 40th year, was started to improve the condition and appearance of war memorials across Scotland.
What has been inspired is dedication and persistent improvement to war memorials by local communities.
Now, thanks to this careful work, Scotland is the proud home of hundreds of pristine war memorials commemorating the sacrifice made by those in the UK armed forces community.
Mr Aldridge said: “I’m delighted to be able to help present the Best Kept War Memorial awards this year, recognising the hard work and dedication of all those who commit their time to preserving and improving Scotland’s war memorials.
“The high standard of all the entries demonstrates just how important it is to the many groups who care for these memorials to honour those who sacrificed their lives for this country.”
All finalists in the competition are subject to rigorous scrutiny, which involves the national judges covering more than 1200 miles over three days to judge and select the winners of each category.
