Chance to renovate local war memorials

Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford is encouraging local groups to apply to the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund (CMRF) to renovate their local war memorials.

CMRF is a £1 million fund, launched by former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2013, to help communities across Scotland undertake necessary repair and conservation work on local war memorials. The fund forms a central part of the Scottish Government’s commemorations of the centenary of the First World War.

Funding was announced this week ahead of Remembrance Sunday for a number of memorials across Scotland - in Fife, Perthshire, the Western Isles, East Lothian and the Highlands bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 95. Many more projects are set to benefit from the fund between now and March 2018.

Mr Crawford said:“Our local war memorials are a mark of history and a tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“While so many communities take great care of local memorials, upkeep can be expensive – and it is a real shame when these memorials are visibly in need of repair. It would be great if as many repair projects as possible could be completed in time for the centenary of Armistice Day in 2018. I would encourage everyone in my constituency to visit their local war memorial this Remembrance Day and get in touch with the War Memorials Trust if they have a project that could benefit from this fund.

“We owe it to our servicemen to preserve the monuments that honour and remember the fallen.”