Muiravonside War Memorial

SMR 594 / NS 9565 7698

The Muiravonside War Memorial stands at the entrance to the extension of the cemetery beside Muiravonside Church. It takes the form of a stately four-sided column resting on a buttressed plinth in turn on a stepped podium, the whole surmounted by a large ball on a cornice. On the side of the column facing the gateway is carved a sword in the shape of the cross, below which is the inscription: “Erected in honour of the men of Muiravonside Parish who fell in the Great War 1914.1919”. Each side of the base bears a bronze panel with the names of the deceased on. The monument was unveiled by Lieutenant Colonel H L Henderson on Saturday 14th May 1921. A plaque to those who died in the Second World War was unveiled by George McLaren on Sunday 27th August 1949.

Names of the Fallen

FIRST WORLD WAR

103 men.

Muiravonside East: Lt Robert Stirling, Pte Mathew Hoggan, L/Cpl George T Watt,
L/Cpl James Lonie, Pte William Fotheringham, Pte Robert Thomson, Pte Alexander Hook,
Cpl Peter Wardlaw DCM, Pte John Eaglesham, Sgt George Mills MM, L/Cpl Andrew Meek MM, L/Cpl James Hoggan, Pte John Lonie, Pte John Carson, Pte Alexander Duff.

Maddiston: Pte William Williamson, Tpr John Mutter DCM, Pte William Marshall,
Pte John Shorthouse, Pte Peter Wilson, Pte Peter McLean, Pte John Spence,
Pte Peter Johnston, Pte John Turner, Pte Peter Forsyth, Pte James K Johnston,
Pte David Lewis, Stoker Francis Ogilvie, Sgt William Hunter.

Carron View & Rumford: Pte John Thomson, Pte Samuel Wilson, Pte John Lithgow,
Pte James Wilson, Pte Alex Gow, Pte Archibald John Smith, Pte James Eadie,
Pte Robert Heeps, Pte Peter Wilson, Sgt Robert Duncan DCM, Pte Hugh Holland,
Pte Hugh Cheyne, Pte George Paterson, Pte Thomas Adams, John Shackleton,
Robert Burt, Samuel Shannon, Pte John Hilson, Pte Robert Lithgow, Pte Robert Watson,
Pte David McWhinnie.

Standburn & Redford: Pte James Gardner, Pte Robert Robertson, Pte Alexander Rodger,
Pte Joseph Robertson, Pte William Johnston, L/Cpl Robert Anderson, Pte David Park,
Pte George McLean, Pte Robert M’Donald, Pte James Gardner, Pte Thomas Walker,
Pte David Christie, Pte James Davies, Pte Robert Brown, Pte Peter Ferguson, Pte Lewis Clark, Pte Walter Rollo MM, Pte David Rodger, Pte William Stevenson, Pte Robert McNeil,
Pte Frank Gordon, Pte William Mackay, Pte Thomas Lauder, Pte Mathew Brown,
Pte William Geddes, Pte William McArtney.

Blackbraes: Pte William Kelso, Pte Alex McEwan, Pte John Reid, L/Cpl Neil Thomson,
Pte David Wilson, Pte William Forgie, Pte William Meek, Pte John McDonald, Pte John Kelso, Pte Robert White, Pte Alexander Sneddon, Pte James Reid, Pte James Small.

Crosscroes and Avonbridge: Pte Thomas Binnie, Pte Thomas Elliot, Pte James Thomson, Pte Thomas Hunter, Pte Murdoch McKenzie, Pte John Watson, Pte Andrew Baird,
L/Cpl Hamilton Dobbie, Pte John Lamond, Pte David Frickleton, Pte George Wallace,
Pte Peter Russell, Pte William Wood, Pte James Stewart.

SECOND WORLD WAR

25 men.

PO John M Pender, L/Sm Thomas Jack, Pte James W Paterson, Gnr William Penman,
Pte James Granger, Pte Robert Mitchell, Pte John Gordon, Sgt Jas Kelso, Sgt David Laird,
Gnr Andrew Rintoul, Pte William Lewis, Sgt John Anderson, Stoker Robert G Taylor,
Pte Douglas Watson, Stoker William Rae, Pte Hugh Johnstone, O/Sm John Gray,
Sgt Stanley Wilson, Pte John Hamilton, Dvr William Gillespie, Cpl Angus Kerr, Sgt Geo Gow,
Pte John Gray, Pte Dan Russell, W/O Pat Ford, Dvr Hector Jenkins.

Bibliography

Bailey, G.B.

1994

‘Battle Monuments and War Memorials,’ Calatria 6, 1-60, p.48-50

NEWSPAPERS

Falkirk Herald, 13 March 1920, 2:
WAR MEMORIAL COMMITTEE.— A meeting of the Muiravonside War Memorial Committee was held in the Public Hall, Maddiston, on Wednesday evening— Rev Bayne: in the chair. Mr Hunter, treasurer, reported on the result of the collection made throughout the parish. The Committee had previously resolved to aim at raising the sum of £— and the meeting was informed that the sum actually collected amounted to £425, and that some further contributions were expected. Arrangements were made to procure further information in regard to the rank, honours, &c of those on the list of the fallen. It was agreed to appoint a sub0committee with instructions to procure and submit to another meeting a suitable design and estimate, and also to submit a recommendation as to the position of the memorial, which it has already been decided is to be erected in the vicinity of the burial ground. The following were nominated as members of the sub-committee: Rev Bayne, Gilmeadowland; James S Wilson, Maddiston; James Henderson, Candie Head; John Blythe, Blackbraes Schoolhouse; Stewart Calder, Craigend; John Colville, Carronview; Alexander Hunter, Maddiston; — Hunter, Maddiston; and W. Saunders, Ma—- …
Falkirk Herald, 21 May 1921:
“MUIRAVONSIDE WAR MEMORIAL UNVEILING OF MONUMENT TO THE FALLEN. Impressive Ceremony in Muiravonside Cemetery. Muiravonside Cemetery was on Saturday afternoon the scene of a particularly impressive ceremony, when Lieut-Colonel H. L. Henderson, late Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, unveiled a beautiful monument erected to the memory of the men of the district who made the supreme sacrifice on the various fronts during the Great War. The weather was beautifully fine, and the ceremony was witnessed by a large company of villagers and people from the surrounding district. The memorial, which occupies a commanding position at the entrance to the cemetery, takes the form of a stately column resting on a plinth, and surmounted by a large ball. On the face of the column is carved a sword in the form of a cross, symbolic of sacrifice, and to each side of the base is attached a bronze panel bearing the names of the fallen. Prior to the ceremony, the ex-service men of the district assembled in the village, and, headed by the local pipe band, marched in a body to the cemetery, a procedure also adopted by the school children, who were under the charge of their teachers. The familiar badge of the Comrades of the Great War organisation was worn by not a few of the former, and in the ranks of the children one little fellow proudly wore the decoration of a relative. When the time for the commencement of the proceedings had arrived, the memorial was encircled by a crowd standing many deep in parts. Led by the choir of the Parish Church, the company joined in singing “O God, our help in ages past.” And thereafter a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession was offered by the Rev. J. Beatson Garvie, Avonbridge. The Rev. David Bayne, addressing the assembly, said that the purpose of that unprecedented gathering was that they might ceremoniously and solemnly unveil and dedicate the monument…
- THE FALLEN. Prior to the act of unveiling, Mr. James Reside, as representing the ex-service men of the district, read the names of the fallen as follows: Muiravonside, East – Lieut. Robert Stirling, Pte. Matthew Hoggan, L-Corporal George F. Watt, L Corporal James Lonie, Pte. William Fotheringham, Pte. Robert Thomson, Pte. Alexander Hook, Corporal Peter Wardlaw, D.C.M., Pte. John Eaglesham, Sergeant George Mills, M.M., L-Corporal Andrew Meek, M.M., L-Corporal James Hoggan, Pte. John Lonie, Pte. John Carson, Pte. Alexander Duff. Maddiston – Pte. William Williamson, Trooper John Mutter, D.C.M., Pte. William Marshall, Pte. John Shorthouse, Pte. Peter Wilson, Pte. Peter McLean, Pte. John Spence, Pte. Peter Johnston, Pte. John Turner, Pte. Peter Forsyth, Pte. James K. Johnston, Pte. David Lewis, Stoker Francis Ogilvie, Sergeant William Hunter. Carronview and Rumford – Pte. John Thomson, Pte. Samuel Wilson, Pte. John Lithgow, Pte. James Wilson, Pte. Alex. Gow, Pte. Archibald John Smith, Pte. James Eadie, Pte. Robert Heeps, Pte. Peter Wilson, Sergeant Robert Duncan, D.C.M., Pte. William Holland, Pte. Hugh Cheyne, Pte. George Paterson, Thomas Adams, John Shackleton, Robert Burt, Samuel Shannon, Pte. John Hilson, Pte. Robert Lithgow, Pte. Robert Watson, Pte. David McWhinnie. Standburn and Redford – Pte. James Gardner, Pte. Robert Robertson, Pte. Alexander Rodger, Pte. Joseph Robertson, Pte. William Johnston, L-Corporal Robert Anderson, Pte. David Park, Pte. George McLean, Pte. Robert McDonald, Pte. James Gardner, Thomas Walker, Pte. David Christie, Pte. James Davies, Pte. Robert Brown, Pte. Peter Ferguson, Pte. Lewis Clark, Pte. Walter Rollo, M.M., Pte. David Rodger, Pte. William Stevenson, Pte. Robert McNeil, Pte. Frank Gordon, Pte. William MacKay, Pte. Thomas Lauder, Pte. Matthew Brown, Pte. William Geddes, Pte. William McCartney. Blackbraes – Pte. William Kelso, Pte. Alex. McEwan, Pte. John Reid, L-Corporal Neil Thomson, Pte. David Wilson, Pte. William Forgie, Pte. William Meek, Pte. John McDonald, Pte. John Kelso, Pte. Robert White, Pte. Alexander Sneddon, Pte. James Reid, Pte. James Small. Crosscroes and Avonbridge – Pte. Thomas Binnie, Pte. Thomas Elliot, Pte. James Thomson, Pte. Thomas Hunter, Pte. Murdoch McKenzie, Pte. John Watson, Pte. Andrew Baird, L-Corporal Hamilton Dobbie, Pte. John Lamond, Pte. David Frickleton, Pte. George Wallace, Pte. Peter Russell, Pte. William Wood, Pte. James Stewart.
- A SOLDIER’S TRIBUTE. Colonel Henderson then drew aside the Union Jack enveloping the tablets with their melancholy burden of names, and the Rev. Mr. Garvie offered a dedicatory prayer. The impressive silence which followed was broken by the playing of “The Flowers of the Forest” by the pipers and the sounding of the “Last Post” by two buglers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Meantime the company stood with heads bowed reverently in token of respect to the memory of the departed. In the course of a brief and typically soldier-like speech, Colonel Henderson said they were met that day to do honour to the immortal memory of the officers, non commissioned officers and men of their parish who gave their all for their King and country. Their names would endure for ever… Responding to request by Mr. J.S. Wilson, Maddiston, on behalf of the Memorial Committee, Mr Robert Bowie accepted custody of the memorial in name of the Parish Council, and assured the gathering that the Council would keep it in a manner worthy of the sacred cause for which it had been erected. A large number of wreaths were placed at the base, including one by the school children and the proceedings were concluded with the singing of the National Anthem…”
West Lothian Courier, 20 May 1921, 5:
Muiravonside War Memorial Erected in Cemetery. THE UNVEILING CEREMONY — On Saturday afternoon a monument erected in Muiravonside Cemetery to the memory of the young men who fell in the war was unveiled by Col. H.L. Henderson of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Stirling, in presence of a large turnout of the parishioners, including a fine body of ex-servicemen belonging to the parish, who entered the cemetery in military marching order and halted round the monument where they stood at attention throughout the ceremony. The local pipe band was also in attendance. The monument, which is a four-sided sandstone pillar, with cornice and surmounted with a ball, is a very imposing one, and faces the gateway to the cemetery. On the side of the pillar facing the gateway is a representation of a sword in the form of a cross, and on each of the four sides of the base there is a bronze panel containing the names of the fallen…
- Mr Reside then read the names of the fallen as follows:
- MUIRAVONSIDE EAST
  - 1915- Lt. Robert Stirling, L Cpl Jas. Lonie, Pte. Mat. Hoggan, Pte. R. Thomson, L-Cpl Geo. T. Watt, Pte. Alex. Hook, Pte. William Fotheringham.
  - 1916 – Cpl Peter Wardlaw, D.C.M., Pte. John Eaglesham.
  - 1917 – Sergt George Mills, M.M.
  - 1918 – L-Cpl A. Meek, M.M., Pte. John Carson, L-Cpl Jas. Hoggan, Pte. John Lonie, Pte. Alex. Duff.
- MADDISTON
  - 1914 – Pte. W. Williamson, Pte. Wm. Marshall, Trooper John Mutter, D.C.M., Pte. John Shorthouse, Pte. Peter Wilson, Pte. Peter McLean.
  - 1916 – Pte. John Spence, Pte. John Turner, Pte. Peter Johnston, Pte. Peter Forsyth.
  - 1917 – Pte. J. K. Johnston, Pte. David Lewis, Stkr Francis Ogilvie.
  - 1918 – Sgt Wm. Hunter.
- CARRONVIEW AND RUMFORD
  - 1915 – Pte. John Lithgow, Pte. John Thomson, Pte. Sam. Wilson.
  - 1916 – Pte. Jas. Wilson, Pte. Arch. J. Smith, Pte. Alex. Gow, Pte. James Eadie.

1918 – Pte. H. Holland, Robert Burt, Pte. Hugh Cheyne, Samuel Shannon, Pte. Geo. Paterson, Pte. John Hilson, Thomas Adams, Pte. Robt. Lithgow, John Shackleton, Pte. Robt. Watson, Pte. David McWhinnie.
STANDBURN AND REDFORD
1914 – Pte. Jas. Gardner, Pte. Robt. Robertson, Pte. Alex. Rodger.
1915 – Pte. Wm. Johnston, Pte. Jos. Robertson, Lance-Corpl Robertson.
1916 – Pte. David Park, Pte. Geo. McLean, Pte. Robert McDonald.
1917 – Thomas Walker, Pte. David Christie, Thomas Walker, Pte. Jas. Davies, Pte. Robert Brown.
1918 – Pte. P. Ferguson, Pte. Frank Gordon, Pte. Lewis Clark, Pte. Wm. MacKay, Pte. W. Rollo, M.M., Pte. Thos. Lauder, Pte. David Rodger, Pte. Matt. Brown, Pte. Wm. Stevenson, Pte. Wm. Geddes, Pte. Robt. McNeil, Pte. Wm. McCartney.
BLACKBRAES
1914 – Pte. Wm. Kelso, Pte. Alex. McEwan.
1915 – Pte. John Reid, L-Cpl N. Thomson, Pte. David Wilson.
1916 – Pte. Wm. Forgie, Pte. John McDonald, Pte. Wm. Meek, Pte. John Kelso
1917 – Pte. Robert White.
1918 – Pte. Alex. Sneddon, Pte. James Reid, Pte. James Small.
CROSSCROES AND AVONBRIDGE
1915 – Pte. Thos. Binnie, Pte. James Thomson, Pte. Thos. Elliot, Pte. Thomas Hunter.
1916 – Pte. M. McKenzie, Pte. John Watson.
1917 – Pte. Andrew Baird, Pte. Dav. Frickleton, L-Cpl H. Dobbie, Pte. Geo. Wallace, Pte. John Lamond, Pte. Peter Russell, Pte. William Wood.
1918 – Pte. James Stewart.
…Mr Wilson, convener of the Memorial Committee, then asked the Parish Council to accept custody and care of the monument. Mr Robert Bowie, chairman of the Parish Council, on behalf of that body accepted the custody of the monument. The “Last Post” having been sounded by two bugkers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders the interesting and impressive ceremony was brought to a close by the singing of the National Anthem…
FH 21 May 1949, 6: The Council regretted the delay that had occurred in connection with the addition to be made at Muiravonside War Memorial, and proposed steps to hasten its completion.