Tarbert does its war heroes proud
The rededication of Tarbert’s war memorial on Saturday brought crowds to the streets to pay their respects.
Retired and serving members of the armed forces came together at the muster point on the Fish Quay and were joined by the descendants of fallen soldiers and representatives of the wider community.
At 2pm, piper Ali Duff led the parade along Harbour Street, the pavements of which were filled with villagers, visitors and shop-keepers paying homage to the men named on Tarbert’s cenotaph.
A hundred years after the unveiling of the Tarbert and District War Memorial the village gathered again on Lady Ileene Road, this time for a special re-dedication ceremony.
The service had been a year in preparation and had seen a huge amount of work by members of the community to learn more about each of the men listed on the monument.
This group was led by Aggie Dennis, a Royal Navy veteran and now local watch commander for Scottish Fire and Rescue.
The rededication followed in the footsteps of the unveiling ceremony almost to the letter, opening with the Gaelic choir singing the hymn ‘O God, our help in ages past’.
Reverend Lyn Peden and Rev Rodger Crooks addressed the crowd before calling everyone to prayer.
The names of each of the men recorded on the monument were then read out by representatives of the army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and merchant navy. Originally there had been 68 names carved into the stone. These were joined by an additional 28 names following the Second World War. Each one of the names represented a member of the community who had been lost. Many of those men were represented by relatives who still live in the community.
Kevin McKeavney sounded the Last Post on his bugle to mark the start of the two-minute silence, which was broken by Ali Duff playing the pipe tune ‘Flowers of the Forest’ as organisations, local businesses, community members and families laid floral tributes around the base of the monument.
It was then time for the official rededication of the memorial, read by Aggie Dennis, to the memories of the men whose names are engraved on the monument.
The national anthem was sung, followed by the reading of ‘In Flanders Fields’ by Tarbert Academy’s school captain Danielle Blair and vice captain Troy Bailey.
The Kohima Epitaph, read by Aggie Dennis, closed the service.
Following the ceremony Aggie said: ‘Today is about remembering why our monument is here. Remembering the families who waved their sons, brothers, fathers and uncles off to war and who didn’t return. It’s about remembering who they were and making sure they are never forgotten. We are indebted to their relatives who have given us their photographs and stories.
‘To our team of volunteers who did online investigations, discovering where some of our fallen men are buried, many miles from their village home, their work has been invaluable and will go on as a living history, a legacy of their lives.
‘I’d like to thank everyone from each of the organisations who paraded with us today, thank you for standing together with us.
‘And finally, to our community. This last year has seen the best we have to offer. From finding information about our fallen men, to fundraising to have the monument looking pristine, as it did in 1921, to look over our village for the next 100 years and beyond. We did our heroes proud today.’