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Memorial details

Memorial type
Cross
District
Dundee
Town
Dundee
County
Tayside
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
Second World War (1939-1945), First World War (1914-1918), Second World War - civilians
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 28 October 1922
    Attended by: Brigadier General J Heriot Maitland performed the unveiling
  • Rededicated
    Date: 28 October 2018
    Attended by: Undefined
  • Dedicated
    Date: 28 October 1922
    Attended by: Reverend A.W. Fergusson performed the dedication
  • Show More (2)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
57839

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Current location

At the west end of the building
6
Sherriff Court
West Bell Street
Dundee
Dundee
Tayside
DD1 9AD
Scotland

OS Grid Ref: NO 39814 30416
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Previous locations
  • District Court
    West Bell Street
    Dundee
    Dundee
    Tayside
    Scotland

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
Description
Celtic wheel-cross, with decorative arms and shaft set on a plinth, with surrounding cobbles and pavers. Dedication and names on plinth are engraved in black lettering.
Inscription
ERECTED BY/ DUNDEE CITY POLICE/ IN MEMORY OF THEIR COMRADES/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918./ (Names)/ LEST WE FORGET./ 1939 - 1945/ (Names)
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Boslem, Robert
Bowman, George
Brimner, John
Donaldson, John
Eggie, Edward
Fyffe, John
Graham, John
Lawson, George
Macgregor, John
Mcgill, David
See details for all 24 names
Commemorations
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 7
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 7
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forename, surname, Military unit
    Order of information: Undefined
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 16
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 16
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Forename, surname, military unit
    Order of information: Undefined
  • Second World War - civilians
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Police rank, forename, surname
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Plinth
    Measurements: depth c1200mm, height c1600mm, width c1200mm
    Materials: Stone
  • Cross
    Measurements: depth c450mm, height c2000mm, width c450mm
    Materials: Stone
Condition
History
1996: PC Robert Stirrat's name was added to the WW2 section of the memorial. (He died from his wounds on 5/5/1941, after pulling a German mine from the River Tay, but was originally omitted from the memorial, as he was a civilian casualty)./ 1980: Memorial was moved 150 yards westwards on the same street. / Post WW2: The names of Dundee City Police Officers who had died as a result of their service in the Armed Forces in that conflict were added to the memorial./ 1922: The memorial was unveiled, bearing the names of the Force's WW1 casualties.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Responsibility
Police Scotland (Tayside Police).
Reference
  • On Monday 30/10/1922 the Dundee Courier printed a long and detailed report of the unveiling on page 5, which opened: 'PROUD WAR RECORD OF DUNDEE POLICE. Brigadier-Gen. Maitland Unveils Memorial. A handsome Celtic cross erected by Dundee City Police Force in memory of 16 comrades who fell in the war was unveiled on Saturday afternoon by Brigadier-General J. Heriot Maitland of Errol Park. The memorial occupies a prominent site in the grounds of the Central Police Office, West Bell Street. Before the ceremony about 250 officers and men of the force were marshalled on the parade ground at the Drill Hall by Inspector Christie, drill instructor, and, followed by police pensioners, special constables, and relatives of the men who fell, and a representation from Dundee City Fire Brigade, they marched to St Mary's Parish Church, where a service was conducted by the Very Rev. Dr Adam Philip, Invergowrie; Rev. A. W. Fergusson; and Rev. Geo. Blair, Ryehill U.F. Church. Mr Alex. Low was at the organ'. (The report included mention of the fact that, from a Force of 125 officers, 88 members of Dundee City Police had volunteered to serve in the armed forces, of whom 16 had died. It also reported that the unveiling ceremony had been attended by numerous dignitaries and 'a large gathering of the general public'). A photograph of the ceremony was printed on page 3 of the same issue. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000164/19221030/096/0005 and www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000164/19221030/046/0003
  • On Monday 11/11/1996 the Dundee Courier printed the following report: 'Moving ceremony recalls constable's wartime death. ONE OF the most poignant acts of remembrance in Dundee yesterday took place at the police war memorial in Courthouse Square. There an 82 year old woman laid a wreath of poppies to the memory of her brother, killed more than 55 years ago when an enemy mine exploded in his face as he walked his beat in Broughty Ferry. Mrs Jessie Low was overwhelmed by the emotionally charged ceremony, but afterwards recalled the tragic details of the day her brother died. Tayside Police had spent months trying to trace relatives of Constable Robert Stirrat, who died at the age of 24 on May 5, 1941, after they decided that his name should appear on the war memorial alongside police officers who died while in military service. Mrs Low is the only surviving member of Constable Stirrat's family, but until late last week Tayside Police were unaware of her existence. A newspaper article spotted by a former colleague of the constable put police in touch with Mrs Low, who lives in Coatbridge. Yesterday she spoke warmly of the care and attention she had received from police officers who brought her by official car to the Dundee ceremony. With tears in her eyes she recalled the Monday 55 years ago when other officers called for her and took her by police car to Dundee Royal Infirmary where her brother lay with serious face wounds and both legs and an arm blown off after the explosion on Fisher Street beach. "At six in the morning there was a knock on the door and it was the police to say he had met with an accident and he was going into Dundee Royal Infirmary" she said. "He was a terrible sight", said Mrs Low of her brother, who lay gravely injured for over nine hours until he died at 3.15 pm. She recalled her brother's last words to her - "I wish I had died when I got it. I am a bit of a crock now". The tragedy occurred just weeks after Constable Stirrat's infant son Bobby died. His widow Kathleen died three years ago. Mrs Low said that although initially her family had maintained links with her brother's widow, the connection had been lost with the passing of the years. Only last week did she discover Kathleen was dead. Also at yesterday's ceremony was Dr Jean Mains, of Edinburgh, who was brought up with Kathleen and was teaching at Grove Academy when a pupil told her Constable Stirrat had been killed. Among former police colleagues at the ceremony was ex-deputy chief constable Tom Clarke, who joined the then Dundee City Police three months after Robert Stirrat. "He was a great lad" said Mr Clark. Later Chief Inspector Robert Main took Mr and Mrs Low and Dr Mains to Barnhill Cemetery to visit Constable Stirrat's grave'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19961111/004/0001 (A report of Robert Stirrat's burial at Barnhill Cemetery was printed in the Dundee Courier on 9/5/1941, see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19410509/025/0002 ).
  • The War Memorials Trust's record of this memorial can be found at www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/141156/
  • On 6/11/1996 the Dundee Courier reported: 'P.C.'s name to be added to memorial. MORE THAN half a century after he died on Broughty Ferry beach when an enemy mine exploded in his face, a police constable's name is to be formally added to the police war memorial in Dundee this weekend. The inclusion of the name of Constable Robert Stirrat with others who gave their lives during the second world war will take place as part of the Remembrance Sunday service at the memorial in Bell Street. It is hoped that some of his former colleagues in Dundee City Police will be there. Sadly, no members of Constable Stirrat's family will be present. Earlier this year, the police made a public appeal for assistance in tracing surviving relatives of the fallen officer, but efforts have proved fruitless. Arrangements are being made, however, for a family friend, who was a bridesmaid at Constable Stirrat's wedding, to be at the war memorial service. Constable Stirrat died on May 5, 1941, while he was investigating a suspicious object which had been washed on the shore. He was 24. When the war ended only those officers who died while in military service were commemorated on the Bell Street memorial. Last year, however, Constable Stirrat's name was added to the police roll of honour at Coventry Cathedral during the VE Day anniversary and Tayside Police decided to add his name to the Dundee City Police memorial. Tayside Chief Constable William Spence and representatives from the Retired Police Officers' Association, the Scottish Police Federation, and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, will be among those attending the memorial service on Sunday morning. A Tayside Police spokesman said yesterday the force was extending an open invitation to retired officers to be present at this year's extended service. Ironically, it seems that although the event has been much delayed, the addition of Constable Stirrat's name to the memorial in Bell Street was inevitable. The police spokesman said yesterday that there had been some space left on the relevant part of the memorial - but for just one name'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19961106/066/0005
  • On 6/4/1996 the Dundee Courier printed a photograph of former PC Robert Stirrat with an appeal from Tayside Police for his relatives to contact them, stating: 'When the name of Constable Stirrat is added to the memorial in Dundee it would be nice to have his family present but, as yet, we have been unable to trace any relatives. "But now these pictures have come to light and hopefully they will help," said Stewart Ross. Tayside Police's information officer'. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19960406/089/0008
  • On 13/3/1996 the Dundee Courier reported: "Fallen PC honoured. TAYSIDE POLICE are searching for the relatives of a Dundee policeman who was killed by a mine in 1941 while on duty in Broughty Ferry. Constable Robert Stirrat died aged 24 while investigating a suspicious object which had been washed up on the Broughty foreshore on May 5. 1941. After the war only those officers who died serving with the military were commemorated on the Dundee City Police war memorial in Bell Street. During last year's VE Day anniversary Constable Stirrat's name was added to a police roll of honour at Coventry Cathedral. Tayside Police plan to put his name on Dundee Police war memorial. www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19960313/031/0004
  • warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=1459&mforum=warmemscot

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

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