We are still learning ‘lessons of sacrifice’ a century later

As we commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War, Remembrance and the red Flanders poppy are an integral part of our national character. Poignant sentiments expressed in November 1918 are, for so many, similarly relevant today

At hame that nicht I minded o’ Those fallen in the fray; Thousands rejoicing, thousands more Are sorrowing to-day.

To those who listen for a voice They never more shall hear, There’s agony in every shout,

A stab in every cheer.

As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice tomorrow, it is the unspoken hope that our world will never suffer war on this scale ever again. However, it is a stark fact of modern life that there are countless conflicts taking place across the globe, many involving our brave servicemen and servicewomen.

Poppyscotland came into being in 1921 (then known as the Earl Haig Fund) with a commitment to providing lifechanging support to the armed forces community. Ninety-seven years on, that need has not diminished and the charity raises millions of pounds each year in order to support veterans throughout the country.

In 1918, despite the hysteria, millions were left behind in the aftermath of the Great War, but it is Poppyscotland’s ongoing quest to ensure that all of our brave servicemen and servicewomen do not suffer the same fate 100 years on.

The Dundee Law War memorial was officially unveiled on May 16 1925 and, to commemorate the event, the People’s Journal published the Dundee War Memorial Supplement, with more than 20 pages devoted to The Great Memorial Roll of Dundee’s Glorious Dead.

The Rev Harcourt M Davidson, VD (Volunteer Officers’ Decoration) reflected on “the lessons of sacrifice” learned because of the Great War, while reflecting on the near-spiritual quality and natural attributes of the Dundee Law, site of the city’s war memorial. On that hill the war memorial would stand as a beacon of hope, love and sacrifice – forever “the immortal memory of 4,000 and more of our brave ones who loved us and gave themselves for us”.

It was a terrible toll of our best but “what have we gained by it?” At a time when “the Nation seems all wrong (and) split into sects, parties and factions. Who will show us any good?” By learning from those we honour, he answered, and in turn honouring their shining virtues: “Brotherliness, courage, unselfishness, discipline.” Yet some gains were made and realised. There was a fresh understanding that solid, dependable and healthy working-class housing was needed to begin to reverse a deplorable health record of a city second only to Glasgow.

Plans were submitted in 1918 and, under the provisions of the Addison Act, a programme of slum clearance began and work on the first municipal housing scheme in Scotland commenced at Logie in Dundee in 1919 – more than 700 houses were built in a few years.

Similar slow-but-sure improvements in medical health and social welfare provision made a positive contribution to the lives of women and children more generally.

In 1918, despite the hysteria, millions were left behind in the aftermath of the Great War...

The general election of 1922 transformed the political map of Scotland and provided the electoral breakthrough for Labour across the country during the 1920s – so much so that Labour formed two minority governments in 1924 and 1929. Much of the groundwork for this breakthrough was firmly laid during the political and social upheavals taking place during and immediately after the Great War, and the political and social impact in Dundee was no less transformative.

Economic depression deepened after a short-lived post-war boom, and from 1921 onwards every major industrial centre in Scotland suffered likewise. With the jute industry continually under pressure, Dundee’s economy suffered disproportionately when compared to that of Scotland as a whole.

The 1920s would prove to be a gloomy decade for Dundee and the 1930s would offer no respite. Recorded unemployment reached five per cent by the early 1930s and this did not include those caught in a cycle of poverty and short-term employment.

Poet Hugh MacDiarmid suggested that had Dante been compelled to live in Dundee at that time he would have added “a sensational new circle to his Inferno”. For many, the 1930s was simply the Devil’s Decade.

Many might well have wondered, as the Rev Davidson debated: “What have we gained by it?”