War poem’s special connection

A TAYSIDE community is preparing to commemorate its First World War sons and the remarkable link to the internationally recognised symbol of wartime sacrifice.

In a series of events involving children, the Memorial Hall at Monikie, just north of Dundee, will be the focus of remembrance for 27 men of the parish who perished in the First World War.

The names of the fallen have been inscribed on plaques that are to be placed on trees planted in their honour as part of a community council-led project.

This has also cast fresh focus on Monikie’s little-known connection to the soldier who penned In Flanders Field, the poem which saw the poppy become an icon of sacrifice across the generations.

Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who wrote the poem as a tribute to a fallen comrade, was the great-grandson of the Rev John Eckford, who served the Angus parish from 1828-51.

Community council chairman Iain Richmond, who has led the commemoration project with colleague Hamish Evatt, said the poet’s family tie to Angus was a fascinating aspect to the wider Monikie memorial story.

“Where most communities may have a plinth, the actual hall at Monikie was built as a memorial to the men who died,” said Mr Richmond.

It was created at a cost of £22,000, with stone coming from Denfind quarry, just a few hundred yards away, and paid for by public subscription in what Mr Richmond described as a “project of remarkable foresight”.

He added: “It has served the community for almost 100 years but the names of the men who died are not in the hall but on a plaque in Monikie church and we wanted to try to do something to remember them as part of the centenary commemorations surrounding the Great War.”

The project hasy involved youngsters from Monikie and Newbigging primary schools, who will be involved in an event of dedication on November 6 when the names of the 27 men will be attached to the trees.

The following evening, the hall will host a concert commemoration, under the theme of In Flanders Fields.

Picture: Dougie Nicolson. Hamish Evatt, left, and Iain Richmond read the plaque to mark establishing the hall.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Dundee University museum collections curator Matthew Jarron, Caroline Brown, Nancy Hughes, great-niece of Joseph Lee, and Dr Keith Williams, senior lecturer in English.