Paying tribute to those who gave all
A special ceremony is to be held next weekend to remember those from a major Perth employer who fell during the two world wars.
It has been 100 years since the war memorial at Pullar’s of Perth was first unveiled in the city centre.
The memorial is formally dedicated to the 61 men who worked at Pullar and Sons and died during World War I (1914-1918).
To mark the occasion, a wreath-laying ceremony is to be held on Saturday, March 7 at the memorial, which is on the outer wall next to the main entrance to Perth and Kinross Council’s Pullar House.
A total of 478 men from the company went off to serve in the war, and the names of the 61 who did not return were immortalised on the memorial in 1920, including two former St Johnstone FC players, John Cameron and Bert Sampson.
More names were then added to the memorial after World War II (1939-1945).
When Pullar’s of Perth ceased to trade in 1990 the building went on to become council offices in 2000 and it was agreed to keep the war memorial on public display.
Since July 2016, council staff have been researching the lives of men listed on the memorial with the help of the local and family history department at AK Bell Library.
The staff also hold an annual Remembrance Day service at the memorial each year, which is attended by family members and members of the football club.
Cllr Chris Ahern, Perth and Kinross Council’s armed forces champion, said:“It has been 100 years since the war memorial was unveiled, so we are going to be doing a memorial service there to mark this. A total of 478 from Pullar’s went to war, but 61 never returned.
“Each year we have family members coming along and members of the football club to remember those who died.
“I am very passionate about this, and the staff at the council have put a lot of effort into researching the individuals named on the memorial.
“This memorial is a big part of Perth’s history, and I want more people to be aware of this.
“I would encourage people to go along to the wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday, March 7.”
There will also be a special display from Monday, March 2 in the foyer of Pullar House, where there will be images of some of the fallen soldiers and other information gathered during the research, as well as original photographers of the memorial’s unveiling ceremony in 1920 from Johnson’s Workwear in Inveralmond.