The war memorial for the town of Arbroath takes the form of a cenotaph, an empty tomb, and sits on the edge of a hill overlooking the North Sea. It has 491 great war names listed upon its panels, 1 being a woman.

Like all cities, town, villages and parishes, the people of Arbroath spent time after the war in public meetings discussing the funding, design and location of the intended memorial to their war dead.

A list of names, which had to meet (now unknown) criteria, was maintained in the council chambers while the memorial was being built.
The memorial doesn't include all those associated with the town who died. If they were resident in an area of the town, which was strictly speaking in a different parish at the time, that of St Vigeans, they were then recorded upon that memorial. The two parishes were merged in the 1930's.

On the 3rd of June, 1922, Lord Inchcape unveiled the memorial. The design was by architect George Washington Browne A.R.A. of Edinburgh and was built by Messrs Ramsay & Gordon of Arbroath.
The final cost, raised by public conscription, was £3461 16s. £749 of this was for the bronze name panels alone.

The estimated population of the burgh of Arbroath on June 30th, 1914 was 19,100.
The 491 listed make up over 2.5% over the community, without discriminating out any groups by age, sex or condition.

The most commonly represented military unit upon the memorial is the local line infantry regiment, the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch). The 163 men from the Black Watch are spread over 9 of its battalions. This group makes up a third of the total listed. The Royal Field Artillery with 48 is the next biggest contingent.

Arbroathians who fought and died in the armies of Canada, Australia and South Africa are represented on the memorial.

The very first war related death was a regular prewar soldier belonging to Carnoustie, who married an Arbroath woman. William Falconer, 29, was in the Royal Scots and died of wounds received in action, three weeks to the day after war was declared, on August 24th.

The first native of the town to die was a cavalryman of the Royal Scots Grey's, who was on the reserve and living in Devonport when war broke out. Arthur Walton was married, but had no children when he was killed in action aged 29, on the 10th of September, 1914.

The solitary woman listed is Staff Nurse Helena Stewart Bennet. Having just completed her nursing training at Edinburgh she had been posted to Oswestry prisoner of war camp, with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Medical Nursing Service, she died from influenza on the 18th of October, 1918 aged 28.

The youngest and oldest people on the memorial both belong to the Mercantile Marine service.
16 year old Wireless Operator Thomas Dilly, sailed aboard the S.S. 'Cyrene'. He had worked in the grocery department of the co-op in town before going to sea. He drowned when his ship was torpedoed on the 5th of April, 1918.
Chief Engineer Alexander Wishart was 58 when he died at sea, his ship, the S.S. 'Taplow', was lost on the 5th of June, 1917.

The mean age on the memorial works out at 26, the most common age being 25.

Many brothers are listed, 52 who are evenly split into 26 pairs, representing fully 10% of all the names on the memorial.

It was relatively early in the war that the town suffered its darkest day of the whole four years. The Battle of Aubers Ridge on the 9th of May, 1915, saw an assault upon well defended German positions, without sufficient artillery support. The attack was a failure, casualties in the attacking waves were high, as they were for those in the support trenches, who were heavily shelled by enemy artillery.
17 townsmen died as a result of that single days events. Aside from 1 Cameron Highlander, they all came from three battalions of the Black Watch, the 1st, 2nd and 5th.
The next deadliest single day was later the same year, on the first day of the Battle of Loos, the 25th of September, 1915. 10 sons of the town were lost.

The last man to die and be added was Lt Patrick Wright Anderson of the RFC, formerly 10th Black Watch, who died of his wounds on the 2nd of November, 1921 aged 29.

27 are commissioned officers of the Navy, Army and Air Force, which is 5%.
The highest ranked casualty is Major Sidney C. Wilson of the Royal Artillery, who died just two days before the armistice.

The most common surname on the memorial is Smith, there being 15 listed. As the most common surname in Scotland then and now it's not surprising.

In spite of the two worst single days for the town occurring in 1915, it was 1918 that proved to be the costliest year of the war, with 146 dead. 1917 being not much different.

Casualties by year
1914 - 23
1915 - 79
1916 - 94
1917 - 140
1918 - 146
1919 - 8
1921 - 1

Awards by individual

Military Cross & bar - 1
Military Cross - 2
Distinguished Conduct Medal & Mention in Dispatches - 1
Distinguished Conduct Medal - 2
Distinguished Service Medal - 1
Military Medal - 9
Meritorious Service Medal - 1
Mention in Dispatches - 8

War Dead of Arbroath