Plans starting to take shape for war memorial centenary
A packed programme of events is taking shape for Oban War Memorial’s centenary in November this year, writes Sandy Neil.
A growing army of volunteers met at Oban’s Rockfield Centre on Wednesday May 24 to report on progress on many projects.
The memorial was erected to the 173 officers and men of Oban who lost their lives on service during the First World War (1914-1918). It was unveiled and dedicated on November 11, 1923. Later, 72 more names were added after the Second World War, and another following the Falklands War.
The cenotaph, commemorating 246 names in total, depicts two Highlanders carrying a wounded comrade between them, set against the dramatic mountain backdrop of Mull and Morvern. On a base of rough boulders sit separate First World War and Second World War plaques on each face.
The centenary projects aim “to commemorate those who died so we can live as we do now”, said the group’s chairperson Elaine Robertson, a long-serving town councillor, now retired.
“It has grown arms and legs,” Ms Robertson said, praising the hard work and dedication of all those people who mobilised for this mission.
Details of the events are still to be confirmed, but a few can be revealed at this early stage, before a full brochure will be published closer to the time.
A book, titled Lest We Forget, will tell the stories of the names listed on the Oban War Memorial, accompanied by an exhibition in the Rockfield Centre around Armistice Day.
Volunteers are also busy making poppies for a cascade down the building.
Following the centenary events, the Oban War Memorial will need a new Friends group to ensure it lasts at least another 100 years.