Alex & the War Memorials

Just before I left Parliament this evening I dropped in at a reception being hosted by Alex Salmond on behalf of the War Memorials Trust.

Alex championed this cause when First Minister , establishing a £1 million fund to restore war memorials commemorating the First World War and one of his last acts as FM was to ensure that that it was being applied where it was needed.    This evening's event allowed veterans and community representatives to see what was being done and there were some fascinating exhibits.

I was particularly intrigued by a wonderfully repaired "Roll of Honour" which commemorates the employees of the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh who served in the war.   

This detail , with the lion rampant and the mark which indicates those who died on service ,  is representative of the fine work that went into the document.  It was found last year at the back of an upstairs cupboard and had clearly been put away and forgotten.  Now it is able to be returned to pride of place and I have appended a couple of further pictures as extras today, although the conditions for getting a good blip of the whole thing were not great - too much overhead lighting in the old restaurant, now called the Members Room. 

The War Memorials Trust supports a huge variety of work and were obviously grateful for the personal interest  and enthusiasm showed by Alex.  It is producing results.