Tullibody War Memorial
Lychgate - Pic. Tullibody History Group
Sitting opposite the Public Park on School Road in Tullibody a stone and wooden structure called the Lychgate stands proudly. Passing through its oak gates gives access to the Tullibody and Cambus War Memorial, which sits in the Lychgate Memorial Garden. This gated structure was moved here from St. Serf's Church on Menstrie Road in 1921 as part of the development of a site of memorial for those local men who had fallen during World War I.
Major James Kennedy Tullis gifted the community of Tullibody and Cambus the land for the memorial garden. The war memorial is a few hundred yards to the east of the gate. The local people helped with the cost of the memorial by subscription. Major Tullis continued to maintain the memorial garden and monument until his death in 1945 after which his wife continued on his behalf. Upon the death of Mrs Tullis she gifted the ground on which the memorial garden and monument sat on to Clackmannan District Council for them to maintain.
The Lychgate originally had two panels on its side walls which listed the 158 men who went to war from Tullibody and Cambus in World War One. These panels are now in the parish hall on Menstrie Road. The Lychgate was built as a tribute from the 158 local men who went to war to the men who were killed in action. The Lychgate is formed of a stone walls of approximately half the total height with a timber frame and rosemary tile roof above. Upon the timber of the Lychgate there are a variety of carvings including at a high level. On the Lychgate there is a inscription of "Their name liveth for evermore".
When first opened the war memorial sat within beautiful gardens the paths of which lead to a small body of water with the memorial in the middle of it. There was a rose garden as well as several benches. The benches were made from wood taken from World War 1 battleships. A gardener was also employed to take care of the beautiful gardens and site in general.
The War Memorial is made up of two pieces, firstly a large boulder called the Haer Stane, rose from the small body of water. The local tale about this boulder is that it was thrown by the strongest man in the bible, Samson, from the top of Dumyat Hill, one of the Ochil Hills, and that it landed in Tullibody. Scientist however state that the boulder was left here when it was dropped by a glacier ten thousand years ago.
On top of the Haer Stane a seven foot red granite stone pillar was added. On the north face of this a Celtic cross was engraved into it. This pillar is said to be a replica of the "stanin stane of King Kenneth McAlpin". The stanin stane was said to have been installed on the orders of King McAlpin on Baingle Brae where his Royal Standard had been placed on the site he and his men camped the nights before and after their victorious battle against the Picts near Cambuskenneth. The original stone was reputedly destroyed during a road project. The monument's stone pillar was created by Scott and Rae Sculptors of Glasgow who carved the Celtic cross onto the pillar as suggested by Major Tullis.
A plaque is placed on a stone in front of the main memorial, dedicated to the men who had died during World War One. The inscription on the plaque says:-
"1921
To the memory of
the twenty-seven men who gave their
lives for us in
The Great War 1914 - 1919
This memorial was raised by their
relatives and friends in
Tullibody, Cambus and District"
The memorial was unveiled by General Sir Francis John Davies, KCB, KCMG, KCVO, who during his speech commented on the men it was designed to memorialise as well as that he felt this monument was the least that could be done in their honour. Sir Davies commented that he hoped the memorial would never be neglected or vandalised - sadly a wish that would not be honoured. He did encourage parents to stress the importance of the memorial and discourage any vandalism.
The Earl of Mar & Kellie, Walter Erskine, was also present at the unveiling and gave thanks to Sir Davies. The Earl wished to make all aware that the land for this memorial had been graciously donated to the villages of Tullibody and Cambus by Major Tullis. Major Tullis' family were the owners of the local tannery, later converted to produce plastic products.
Tullibody Tannery - Pic. Facebook
At some point after World War II, a further sixteen names were added to the memorial in tribute to the local men who died in that conflict.
Sadly at some point in time the plaques with the names was removed. The actual reason for the removal is uncertain, some reports say they were stolen - others that they were removed to be restored.
With the passage of time the garden became overgrown and untidy while the Lychgate slowly fell into disrepair.
In 2002 Tullibody History Group managed to secure some funds through a Civic Pride Award which was used to manage the gardens and once again gain control of the shrubs and trees. This fund also helped to improve the paths throughout the garden to allow easy access to the garden and memorial.
In 2013 the Tullibody Community Council, Tullibody History Group and the Royal British Legion Scotland managed to have the memorial plaques replaced with two new plaques listing the dead of both world wars. The plaques were unveiled by local Provost Tina Murphy.
By 2015 the Lychgate had lost its gates and because of damage due to weather and age the structure was deemed unsafe. Therefore with the fear that the whole structure might collapse, the Lychgate was closed off. Fortunately later that same year a grant was given by the War Memorial Trust to pay for the restoration. The original timbers were removed were necessary and replaced with new timbers which were carved in the same way as its predecessor. The pointing had been originally done with cement and this was removed so that the stone work could be repointed with lime mortar. The roof repairs were given just as much consideration and again the timbers were repaired like for like. Whilst stripping back the roof for the timber repairs each roof tile was examined and when the time came to put the roof tiles back, those that were damaged were replaced again with like for like. Finally the missing oak gates were recreated and were added to the Lychgate.
A very few years later in 2017 on the 10th of November it was discovered that someone had vandalised the memorial itself by spray painting on the Haer Stone. Due to the speedy work of Clackmannanshire Council the paint was removed that day so that the memorial took its proud place in the local Armistice Day Ceremony.
The Fallen World War One
1914 - 1918
Adams, Alexander Charles - Private, 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Alexander, Patrick David - Gunner, 59th Royal Garrison Artillery
Anderson, John - Private, 14th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Bain, David - Private, 1st Canadian Infantry
Croy, David - Private, 1st/9th Duke of Cambridge's Own Regiment
Chalmers, Andrew - Sergeant, 1st/7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Miltary Medal
Chalmers, James - Lance Corporal, 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Ewing,, William Whitehead - Guardsman, 2nd Scots Guards
Farquharson, Alexander - Private, 11th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Glancy, John - Private, 7th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Goodall, Alexander Morrison - Private, 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Hogg, James - Private, 1st/7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Irvine, David - Private, 7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Johnstone, Robert - Private, 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Lawson, John - Private, 11th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Little, James - Sergeant, 296th Royal Garrison Artillery
McFarlane, James - Private, 2nd Royal Scots
Mitchell, Henry - Lance Corporal, 15th Royal Scots
Mitchell, Thomas - Private, 3rd Seaforth Highlanders
Murray, John - Sergeant, 3rd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Murray, Robert - Private, 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Robertson, John S - Private, 11th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Robertson, Thomas - Private, 12th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Starkey, Thomas - Sergeant, 46th Machine Gun Corps
Tullis, Robert Ramsay -Captain, 7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Walker, John - Lieutenant, 7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Wilson, John - Driver, Royal Field Artillery
The Fallen of World War Two
1939 - 1945
Davidson, William Keddie - Stoker, H.M. Trawler Ullswater
Douglas, Angus Neil - Lieutenant, 5th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Drummond, William - Lance Corporal, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Fowell, Robert Candland - Fireman, S.S. Abbotsford (Merchant Navy)
Fraser, John - Gunner, 39th Royal Artillery
Glass, Victor - Private, 7th Black Watch/Royal Highlanders
Hall, John - Corporal, 1st Gordon Highlanders
Hamilton, Andrew - Sergeant, 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
McCartney, William - Sergeant, Royal Air Force Reserve
McMeekin, John - Lance Corporal, Royal Air Force Reserve/Royal Fusiliers
Nugent, Thomas - Signalman, 18th Royal Corp of Signals
Peden, Peter - Sergeant, 5th Parachute Regiment
Rennie, John Robertson - Sergeant, Royal Air Force Reserve/ Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Rooney, Thomas - Private, 2nd Seaforth Highlanders
Semple, Ernest Armstrong - Sergeant, 7th/10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Ure, James - Private, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers
The Men
A memorial although most definitely a dignified reminder of all who have fallen during wars, does not tell us anything about the men who fell or how the wars affected their families. To remind us of those who were affected and lost it is only right to look into a few men and their families.
The Chalmers Family
Mrs Chalmers who lived in Ochilview, Tullibody was the mother to at least four men and one daughter. Her sons John, Jason, Robert and Andrew all enlisted early in World War I in a bid to defend their home country. In September 1915 Jason was reported to be "Killed In Action" this was to be the first loss to the family. In March 1917 Mrs Chalmers was informed that her son Robert was now "Missing in Action". The following year Andrew was then reported as "Killed In Action" on the 21 March 1918, he was then reported as "Killed in Action" and the Red Cross informed his mother of where he was buried. This left her eldest son John now fighting somewhere in France.
On 28 March 1918 Mrs Chalmers received a letter a very unexpected letter in the mail, a letter from her son Robert. He was indeed not dead but was a prisoner of war and was in the German lines within France.
Two of Mrs Chalmers sons received Military Medals during the war and her son Andrew had been recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) just before his death. He had received his Military Medal for continuing to bomb the Germans at close quarters. It appears he spent four hours creeping along the parapet of the German lines and throwing bombs in, at times he was approximately only 25 yards away from the German trenches. However eventually a German bullet found its target and Andrew was Killed in Action. Her eldest son John was the recipient of the Military Medal.
The Tullis Family
Robert Ramsay Tullis - IWM.org.uk
The Tullis family were the owners of the tannery in Tullibody and like all other local families their son Robert Ramsay Tullis fought in World War I. Robert was born in Glasgow but moved to Tullibody at some point between 1901 and 1911. He was a Director of John Tullis and Son, covering the Tullibody Tannery. Robert was a Captain in the 7th battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from 1909 until his death in 1915.
Robert married his wife Edith on 30 April 1913, they had a daughter Jeanne who was born on the 23 March 1915. It is highly unlikely that Robert ever saw his daughter as he was injured whilst in action in Bailleul, France on 24 May 1915.
Robert was based in Stirling at the outbreak of World War I and by 11 December 1914 he and his battalion were in Southampton awaiting transportation to France. Robert and his battalion were transferred onboard the S.S. Tintoretto which landed at Le Harve on the 17 December. The battalion were located at Helfaut and Bilques for training by 31 December.
At the start of 1915 Robert's battalion were part of the 10th infantry brigade at Nieppe. The brigade were given some training to become familiar with their surroundings, situation etc. The brigade became active at the second Battle of Ypres from 22 April, this battle was the first time the Germans had used poison gas. Robert's brigade then took part in the Battle of St Julien on 25 April with many casualties for the British. They saw action again several times prior to the end of the second Battle of Ypres.
The Battle of Bellwaarde was the next action that Robert saw. On 24 May the trenches were again attacked with poison gases and more than 200 soldiers were affected. In this battle Robert received an injury to his head which rendered him unconscious, he never regained consciousness and died the next day.
The Davidson Family
Tullibody couple William and Margaret Davidson saw their son William off to war like many others. William had joined the Royal Navy and was allocated to H.M. Trawler Ullswater, which was a boat in the Royal Naval Patrol Service. William was a stoker onboard the anti-submarine trawler.
H.M. Trawler Ullswater - Uboat.net
The Ullswater was used as a convoy escort boat. In its previous life had been a steam whaler. William was lost at sea when it was hit by torpedoes from a German U-boat. This U-boat had been searching for British ships in the English Channel on 19 November 1942. The Ullswater lies south east of Eddystone near two other ships from its last convoy that were lost at sea during that same attack.
References:
Kirkintilloch Hearld
www.glasgownecropolis.org
Stirling Observer
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
www.roll-of-honour.com/Clackmannanshire/Tullibody.html
www.uboat.net
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk
www.angelfire.com/sc3/tullibody
www.pssauk.org/public-sculpture-of-britain
www.tullibodyhistorygroup.com
www.warmemorials.org