Status:
On original site
Type:
Freestanding
Location:
External
Setting:
Roadside
Description:
Wheel cross
Lettering:
Incised
Conflicts:
- First World War (1914-1918)
About the memorial:
By the church but in a small roadside enclosure.
Celtic cross on tapered plinth and 3 stage base. The Dedication is on the shaft of the cross, and the names on 3 sides of the plinth.
The Duke of Roxburghe at Roxburgh 24 September 1920 (Kelso Chronicle)
The parish of Roxburgh, in common with others, paid a heavy toll in the recent war, and, also like others, it was thought only right and proper that some fitting memorial should be erected to perpetuate the memory of those who had fallen in the cause of freedom. For this purpose a representative committee was appointed, with Miss Davidson, Heiton, as secretary, and subscriptions were readily obtained, as was only to be expected for so worthy an object.
A fitting culmination to the committee's efforts was reached on Sunday, when a handsome Ionic cross of grey Aberdeen granite, standing 13 feet high, was unveiled and dedicated after an appropriate service in the Parish Church. The cross, which stands in a prominent position outside the churchyard, was designed and erected by Messrs J.R. & W. Campbell, builders, Kelso, who deserve great credit for their work. It bears the following inscription:- "To those of the Parish of Roxburgh who gave their lives for their country in the Great War, 1914-19." Then follow the names of 15 men belonging to the parish who made the supreme sacrifice:- Pte. Peter Reid, K.O.S.B., April 25, 1915; Pte. Thomas B. Fairbairn, Seaforth Highlanders, May 9, 1915; Pte. Peter Armstrong, Cameron Highlanders, Sept. 26, 1915; Pte. Robert J. Alexander, Post Office Rifles, May 21, 1916; L-Corpl Charles Reid, K.O.S.B., Sept. 26, 1916; Corpl. Robert S. Wilson, K.O.S.B., April 9, 1917; Pte. George Anderson, Royal Scots, Sept. 8, 1917; L-Corpl. Andrew Fortune, K.O.S.B., Oct. 4, 1917; 2d Lieut. William S. M'Laren, R.F.C., Nov. 18, 1917; Capt. James M'Laren, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Nov. 21, 1917; Lieut. William G. Ewart, Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, March 30, 1918; Sergt. Thomas Biggar, M.M., Royal Scots, July 15, 1918; Pte. Arthur D. Kerss, Canadian Light Infantry, Sept. 3, 1918; L-Corpl. James Queenan, M.M., K.O.S.B., Sept. 18, 1918; Pte. Alex. Mabon, Scottish Rifles, Feb. 24, 1919.
Heavy rain had fallen overnight between Saturday and Sunday, but fortunately the weather cleared, and when the hour arrived for the service in the Parish Church the sun was shining brightly. There was a very large congregation, and the service - a deeply impressive one throughout - was conducted by Rev. Dr Mathers, the esteemed minister of the parish. While the congregation was gathering the organist (Mr W.G. Rodgers, Kelso) gave fine renderings of "They that through much tribulation" (from Mendelssohn's "Lauda Sion") and Spohr's "Blest are the departed."
After the singing of the 100th Psalm, Dr Mathers offered up an impressive prayer of confession and supplication, which contained the following reference to those who had fallen:- "Strengthen us, we pray Thee, as we commemorate on this day those whom we have known who have been faithful unto death, and grant us in Thy grace that, as we enter into their labours, and find our blessedness in this life through their blood, we may be Thine in all assurance and fidelity both for this life and for the life that is to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The Paraphrase "How bright these glorious spirits shine" was next sung, and appropriate Scripture lessons were read by Dr Mathers - the hymn "Soldiers of Christ, arise" being sung mid-way - who also offered a prayer of intercession and thanksgiving, concluding with the following passage:- " O Almighty God, Who art a strong tower of defence unto Thy servants against the face of their enemies, we yield Thee praise and thanksgiving for our deliverance from those great and apparent dangers wherewith we were encompassed. We think of those who suffered for us in the agonies of war; we pray for those who with heavy and broken hearts mourn their beloved dead. We acknowledge it to be of Thy goodness that we were not delivered over as a prey to our foes, and we beseech Thee still to continue Thy mercies towards us, that all the world may know that Thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, O Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen."
The hymn, "For all the saints" was then sung, and, after the Lord's Prayer, Dr Mathers preached from St John xv. 12, 13 - "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." In the course of his sermon Dr Mathers said - This parish of Roxburgh is to be asked (after our service here in church is ended) to inaugurate the memorial which has been erected by public subscription to the memory of those from this parish who were faithful unto death, and leave us the heritage of an honoured death where their bodies lie far from the country of their birth, and it is in the words of our text that I find the teaching for us Christians met here as the followers of Jesus today. This parish has done what it can that the names of those who have sealed their devotion with their blood should be held in everlasting remembrance and honour. Let the special work of this quiet Sabbath hour be the interpretation for our Christian life of the mute appeal of the stone. Dr Mathers went on to point out that the glory and truth of our religion was that it was the religion of love, and that it was Jesus Himself who consecrated for ever the love that conquered through death. Proceeding, he drew a comparison between the soldier and the martyr, and asked if it was any wonder that St Paul depicted the Christian as the soldier of God, and that our most glorious hymns were the hymns of the warfare of the kingdom of God. Speaking of those to whose memory the cross was erected, the preacher said that they died that we might live in peace; they died that their country might remain free; they died in the struggle (as they and we believed and believe) that the things which have God and Jesus behind them should be triumphant in the world. In conclusion, Dr Mathers said - The dead we honour today laid down their lives to save us from the German foes and enemies of our peace. Jesus laid down His life to save us from the foes and enemies of all that is for peace for our souls and of all that is for peace eternal.
"O God of Bethel" was the concluding item of praise, and, after the benediction, the congregation upstood while Mr Rodgers effectively played the "Dead March" in "Saul" - Handel's glorious masterpiece.
The local company of Girl Guides, under the supervision of Miss E. Bywater, occupied seats facing the pulpit.
Those in attendance then made their way to the spot where the war memorial is erected, where a guard of honour, consisting of returned soldiers belonging to the parish, was lined up, these being under the command of Lieut. Donald, who was accompanied by Capt. T. Black, Kelso, and Lieut. Scarth. Others within the railed-off enclosure were the Duke of Roxburghe, K.T. (Lord Lieutenant of Roxburghshire), and the Duchess of Roxburghe, General R. Scott-Kerr of Sunlaws, Provost Stevenson (Kelso), Mr Henry Rutherfurd of Fairnington, Miss Davidson (Heiton), Miss E. Bywater, and Rev. Dr Mathers.
Rev. Dr Mathers opened the proceedings with a dedicatory prayer in the following terms:- "O God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim, grant unto us, we pray Thee, that, as we now dedicate unto Thee for an everlasting remembrance this memorial of those from this parish of Roxburgh who sealed their devotion to their country with their blood, we, for whom they fought, and for whom they conquered in their death, may dedicate ourselves anew unto Thee for all that is for righteousness and for the enduring glory of life. We bring to Thee our fervent thanksgiving for every faithful life, and we ask that through Thy Spirit the memory of these Thy faithful ones, by whose sacrifice peace was again restored to our beloved land, may rouse us, to whom Thou hast continued life on earth, that we may live more worthy of Thy great goodness unto us. Hasten the time, in accordance with Thy holy will, for which Thy servants laboured even through the sufferings of war, and give us grace, we beseech Thee, to enter into their labours, when the nations of the world will no longer strive and destroy, and shall not learn war any more; and when the peaceful kingdom of Thy righteousness shall be established from sea to sea, even unto the ends of the earth. Grant this, O God, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."
The Duke of Roxburghe, who was in uniform, then stepped forward to unveil the memorial, which had meanwhile been draped with the Union Jack. He was, he said, grateful for the opportunity and privilege to unveil the memorial, for on it was the name of at least one of his employees, and also the names of many who were employed by his own tenantry. These memorials were invariably accompanied by a tone of sadness, but there should also be the thought of duty well done, sacrifice nobly faced, and suffering calmly endured. He hoped that succeeding generations would look on it in that light, so that the Empire might remain free, and that right might always prevail against wrong. During the summer he had visited portions of the battlefields, and had there witnessed a sight which he would not readily forget. In a portion of the battle front where the fighting had been particularly severe, known as the Labyrinth, the widow of a French officer, accompanied by her only child, was waiting patiently while a party of soldiers were examining the ground, but could not discover what remained of her loved one. Her Grace asked why she sought for her husband's body in one particular place, and her reply was "The grass is greener where the soil is richer." In the same way we were a richer nation because these men had faced the sacrifice and poured forth their blood in France and other distant lands. At one period of the war the outlook was so dark that victory was apparently unobtainable, and during that period where was there a house, where was there a cottage, where was there a castle whose inhabitants did not await the receipt of some telegram stating that some loved one had been killed - or smitten down with wounds - in words which entailed suffering and pain? His Grace then referred to the widespread effort which had been made in the parish on behalf of the memorial, and said that those who mourned the loss of loved ones should be specially regarded with a sympathetic eye. He thought, however, that their grief might be tinged, or perhaps, tempered with pride that by the sacrifice of these men our country remained free, and our Empire was consolidated. The Duke concluded by expressing the reverent hope that the souls of those to whom it was erected now rested in peace. He then unveiled the memorial.
The singing of the National Anthem, led by Mr W.G. Rodgers, and the sounding of the "Last Post" by Bugler N.R. Fairbairn, Kelso, concluded the proceedings, after which the Duchess of Roxburghe placed a funeral wreath at the base of the memorial.
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