After Stobhill we passed this church on the way back from Crichton Castle (and Collegiate Kirk) and I noticed the Commonwealth War Graves sign.

Cockpen is south of Bonnyrigg on the B 974 between Bonnyrigg and Gorebridge.

Inside the churchyard I found no fewer than twelve war graves.

(I have no idea why some of these don’t show as pictures on the blog but only as links to my Flickr.

Edited to add; they seem to be loading okay, now.)

Guardsman G Davis, Scots Guards, 20/4/1919:-

Sergeant T Smith, Air Gunner, RAF, 3/10/1943, aged 25. An urn in front of the gravestone commemorates Alice Cummings:-

Able Seaman A Raeburn, RNVR, HMS Dinosaur, 15/6/1943:-

Sapper J Murphy, Royal Engineers, 1/11/1918:-

Private R Millar, Highland Light Infantry, 5/5/1917, aged 24:-

Private A Ramage, Royal Scots, 27/4/1919:-

Gunner W Cranston, Royal Artillery, 15/3/1919, aged 20:-

Driver W Ward, Royal Field Artillery, 23/2/1919:-

Flight Sergeant J E A Huschmann, RAF, 8/5/1943:-

Guardsman G K Pringle, Scots Guards, 19/10/1916:-

Private J Allan, London Regiment, 16/2/1919:-

Private P Bennet, Royal Scots, 23/10/1919@-

Stobhill Parish War Memorial, Midlothian, Scotland, lies alongside Hunterfield Road. I came across it on my way back from Crichton Castle and Crichton Collegiate Kirk. It’s unusual in having a pyramidal obelisk with the representation of a flag draped round it from a standard.

The upper inscription here reads, “In memory of the sacred dead who fell in the Great War 1914-1918.” Under the slogan, “They also gave themselves for the Empire,” are the names of two women, Mary Aitken, WRAF and Lizzie Dodds, VAD. The lowest inscription reads, “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old.”

The column to the right of the above reads, “Cherished is the memory of their costly sacrifice with fadeless pride and with the love that never grows old,” and the lowest inscription carries on the quote from the previous side, “Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.”

Reverse view. The right hand side here reads, “They gave themselves for the Empire, for the cause of freedom and for the uplift of the world.”

Below has, “At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.”

Three gravestones in Crichton Collegiate Kirk yard commemorate war dead.

Private C McDonald, Royal Army Service Corps, died 27/10/1915, aged (indeterminate):-

W Archibald Callander, Major, The Black Watch, killed in action in Italy, 1944, aged 24:-

Alexander Borthwick, died of wounds in France, 9/6/1940, aged 26:-

Crichton Collegiate Kirk (see an earlier post) has four lovely stained glass windows.

The fourth is Crichton’s Great War Memorial:-

The wording reads, “To the glory of god and in loving memory of the men of Crichton parish and congregation who gave their lives in the war 1914-1919.”

The Second World War Memorial is a wooden panel below the Great War stained glass Memorial:-

It is dedicated “In honoured memory of (those) who fell in the World War 1939-1945”:-

Is situated in the school’s hall.

Fortingall is a village in Perth and Kinross, fairly remote. Go to Kenmore at the foot of Loch Tay, take the road along the north shore of the loch and turn right at Fearnan – and you’ve still a few miles to go.

The War Memorial lies in a walled off area just outside the churchyard:-

This is the view of the kirk through the gates seen to the left above:-

Fortingall’s War Memorial Inscriptions read, “To the glory of god and in memory of those from Fortingall district who fell in the Great War 1914-1919,” and below, “They died that we might live.” Both inscriptions are also rendered in Gaelic.:-

The 1939-45 names are engraved on one side of the Memorial:-

One of the gravestones in the kirkyard has war dedications. Pte Peter Cameron, 43rd Canadians, died of wounds in France, 12/10/1916, aged 29. Corp William Cameron, Scottish Horse, 5/3/1919, aged 36:-

Fearnan is a village on the north shore of Loch Tay. The War Memorial lies at the junction which leads to Glen Lyon and Fortingall.

“In memory of all of the district of Fernan who gave of their lives in defence of liberty and right 1914-19.”

Kenmore Church is a lovely building inside and out but like all of its vintage needs upkeeping. There was an exhibition of patchwork and quilting going on at the time we visited so conversations were had with the promoters/exhibitors.

There were three Memorials to war dead.

The first is the village’s World War 2 Memorial. It is inscribed, “1939 1945. To the glory of God and in memory of the men of this parish who gave their lives in the world war,” and below “Greater love hath no man than this.”

Unusually one of the casualties was a member of the Home Guard. A training accident involving a grenade we were told.

Major Robert Hutchinson, The Black Watch, who died in the hills of Sicily 1/8/1943, has an individual memorial:-

Lastly there is a plaque naming the “adherents of the United Free Church, Lawers” who fell in the Great War. Lawers is a village further along the shores of Loch Tay. The first part of the lower inscription is obscured but I think it treads, “Not for their country they fought and died but to free the whole world from oppression and woe.”

Kenmore lies at the foot of Loch Tay in Perthsire.

Its War Memorial stands at the turn of the main street in front of the local kirk. The inscription reads, “To the glory of God and in memory of the men of Kenmore parish who fell in the Great War.”

Kenmore War Memorial Names. The first one is a John Deighton! (Lieut, Black Watch.) Too close a match to be comfortable for me:-

Reverse of Kenmore War Memorial looking towards Taymouth Castle Gates:-

Plockton from the jetty:-

Looking Towards Loch Carron:-

The climate is very mild. If you zoom in on the photo you will see palm trees:-

The churchyard cemetery had a Commonwealth War Graves sign. There were two; one from each war, though both casualties died after hostilities ceased

Seaman W J Reid, RNR, SS Cresco, 30/11/1918, age 28:-

Captain R McKay, RAMC, 4/7/1946, age 46:-