Loth, Sutherland

[brownag]

The War Memorial at Loth in Sutherland has just been moved to a new location. Many of the forum users who have travelled in the North of Scotland may well have passed this memorial before without realising it was there. It was right beside the A9 at Loth (between Brora and Helmsdale) but it was surrounded by trees and bushes and at a bend in the road so it was quite easy to miss.

Its old position since it was erected in the 1920s overlooking the church at Kilmote and the Moray Firth was quite spectacular, however it was also impractical for remembrance ceremonies since it was right next to a busy road.

Last week a local contractor moved the memorial to its new spot down the hill in the new burial ground behind the disused church. Whilst this is a very sensible solution for many reasons a little more thought could possibly have been put into its new position. Its previous location looked over a large part of the old parish including the church and it was a view that all the men listed on the memorial would have known well. It is now stuck in the corner of the burial ground facing the opposite direction and anyone standing beside the memorial has a only a view of trees and the back of the old church.

I don’t know the details of the move but I’m sure the local RBL would have been involved and are quite happy with the new spot but I can’t help think that it has lost some of its intended impact in its new site.

Just for interest there are eleven Great War names on the memorial and two Second World War names. Of the Great War names four are CEF, three are Camerons, two are Guardsmen, one is a Royal Scot and only one is a Seaforth which is unusual for this part of the country where many of those listed are Seaforths.

[mbriscoe]

I posted some pictures of the new memorial here yesterday - perhaps the two threads can be merged.

 

It seems to have been moved partly on the grounds of road safety but the junction where you rejoin the A9 has limited visibility.  Not too bad going South because there is a lay by that can be used like a motorway slip road but the North junction looks worse.