The Commando Memorial - Spean Bridge, Highland.
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creg-ny-baa
N 56° 53.885 W 004° 56.698
30V E 381533 N 6307725
Marker, giving historical information about the nearby Commando Memorial.
Waymark Code: WMYB1H
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/23/2018
Views: 3
The famous Commando Memorial situated just off the A82 near Spean Bridge and overlooking the Nevis Range of mountains to the south has an information marker a few yards to the west. The text reads as follows:
'Early in 1947 many members of branches of the Commando Association felt that some form of memorial should be put up in Scotland. It was agreed that the most appropriate spot would be in the area of the former Commando Basic Training Centre at Achnacarry. Mr William Gilmour Smith JP of Glasgow advised the Association that a strong representative committee had been formed with the intention inviting the Scottish School of Sculptors to submit designs.
Douglas Bliss and Dr Tom Honeyman were responsible for drawing up the conditions for the designs, and the artists were given 8 months to complete. In all, 26 designs were submitted and these were exhibited in the Glasgow School of Art on the 28th October 1949. The committee came from all over the country to judge the exhibits. They were unanimous that the design by Mr Scott Sutherland, who was an Art Teacher at Dundee College of Art, was the most outstanding work and all agreed that it would be a fitting symbol of all that Commandos stood for.
It took another two years to prepare the clay and plaster casts for the foundry and complete the castings in bronze. The actual figures are 9 feet 4 inches high, and the finished memorial approximately 17 feet high.
At this stage Lord Lovat was successful in having the present site generously donated by Mr McDonald of Spean Bridge. The memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on Saturday 27th September 1952. There was no parade or ceremonial drill. The Queen Mother expressing a wish to walk through a line of Commandos on the way back to her car.
The simple area of remembrance was later opened adjacent to the memorial which had been extended in recent years. Here Commandos and their families lay small tributes to loved ones.
At Spean Bridge, as at Westminster Abbey, an annual Act of Remembrance was arranged, the first held on Sunday 8th November 1953. Over the years this ceremony has become a very important one for the residents of Lochaber in addition the hundreds of Commandos who, along with their families and friends, make the pilgrimage to the area.
In 1957 the Town Council of Fort William agreed to arrange future services at the memorial and also for its future care and upkeep. The close links between Lochaber and the Commandos have been maintained ever since and in 1993 the Lochaber District Council bestowed on the Commando Association the very great honour of the freedom of Lochaber. This was presented to the Association on Saturday 13th November 1993. The following day a special plaque on the memorial was unveiled by Brig K.R.S. Trevor CBE, DSO, giving a short history of the Commandos.'