Portree War Memorial
Posted in Trips, War Memorials at 20:50 on 5 February 2018
Portree is the main town on the Isle of Skye. Not big in the grand scheme of things but it has enough non-chain shops not to be boring.
The War Memorial is in the town square. It takes the form of a lion-surmounted pillar on a hexagonal base, name panels on five of the lower hexagonal planes. The supplementary (upper) panel is for 1939-45.
The stone wreath here is inscribed 1914-1919, the panel under it, “To the glory of God and in grateful memory of the soldiers and sailors from the mainland of Portree Parish and from South Snizort who died for their country in the Great War 1914-1919. Eternal Honour to the true and brave who for their native land their life blood gave. And in Gaelic, “Mairidh An Cliu Go Bragh”:-
The supplementary upper panel below is for 1939-45 (and includes Private Alice Buchanan ATS) plus a soldier of the Korean War, Private Alastair M Annan.
Again the supplementary upper panel is for 1939-45:-
Tags: Isle of Skye, Korean War, Portree, Second World War, Skye, the Great War, War Memorials, World War 1, World War 2, WW1, WW2, WWI, WWII
Donald Gordon
4 February 2020 at 20:09
My dad who served in the Korean war.
He knew Alastair annan and was with him when he was killed. My came from staffin.
jackdeighton
5 February 2020 at 19:40
Donald Gordon,
Your dad must have been gratified when his colleague’s name was placed on the memorial. What he and his comrades went through – like the soldiers of the two World Wars – is almost impossible to imagine.
Thanks for looking in and commenting.
Alastair Tunstall
21 April 2020 at 13:07
Alastair Annan was my uncle (my mother’s brother) and I was named after him. His death cast a long shadow over the family, and one question that must be asked is why was a 19 year old who was just out of school and doing his National Service was sent to the Korean War.
jackdeighton
21 April 2020 at 19:15
Alastair Tunstall,
Thanks for telling me about your uncle. I’m so sorry he didn’t came back from Korea but now I have his story to put alongside his name.
Seeing these names is a reminder of how many families had shadows cast over them. Many National Servicemen were sent to Korea. Like in both World Wars the Army didn’t distinguish between conscripts and volunteers. Not all of the Korean War dead were commemorated on their local Memorials but I’ve begun to notice more have been added over the years.