Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
South Ayrshire
Town
Ayr
County
South Ayrshire
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918)
Ceremony
  • Dedicated
    Date: 20 December 1921
    Attended by: Reverend W. Cairns Duncan performed the dedication
  • Unveiled
    Date: 20 December 1921
    Attended by: The Marquis of Ailsa performed the unveiling
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Lost
WM Reference
78920

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Previous locations
  • On a chimney breast within the building
    Ayrshire Constabulary Headquarters
    34 Charlotte Street
    Ayr
    South Ayrshire
    South Ayrshire
    KA7 1EA
    Scotland

    OS Grid Ref: NS 33197 21935
    Denomination: Undefined
Description
Carrara marble pedimented tablet in Roman classical outline. The carved Ayrshire Constabulary Badge on the pediment has the dates 1914 and 1918 on a carved scroll above, and "THE GREAT WAR" on a carved scroll beneath. Below is the black-painted lettering of the inscription, followed by the phrase "DULCE ETS DECORUM PRO PATRIA MORI", carved at the foot of the tablet.
Inscription
1914 1918/ THE GREAT WAR/ IN AFFECTIONATE MEMORY OF THE / MEN OF THE AYRSHIRE CONSTABULARY / WHO DIED FOR THEIR / KING AND COUNTRY / (Names) / DULCE EST / DECORUM / PRO PATRIA MORI
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Cameron, Angus
Cooper, William
Gibson, Allan
Heeps, Walter
Kerr, John R
Kirkland, William
Kirkwood, William
Mackenzie, Donald
Malcolm, Peter
Mclachlan, Archibald
See details for all 14 names
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 14
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 14
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: First name, surname
    Order of information: Alphabetically by surname
Components
  • Tablet
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Marble - Carrara
Condition
History
Having been erected in December 1921, "built into the interior wall of one of the rooms forming the new portion of the County Constabulary headquarters" in Charlotte Street, the Ayrshire Constabulary WW1 memorial was later moved to a new site within the building. In 1968 Ayr Burgh Police (whose former HQ was at Ayr Town Hall) and Kilmarnock Burgh Police (whose former headquarters was at Sturrock Street, Kilmarnock) amalgamated with Ayrshire Constabulary. At the time the enlarged Ayrshire Constabulary subsequently moved its HQ to King's Street (and became part of Strathclyde Police) in 1975, its World War 1 memorial was left in situ on a chimney breast at Charlotte Street, which was owned by the Local Authority. During subsequent alterations to the premises in Charlotte Street, a partition wall was erected in the vicinity of where the memorial had been. In the course of researching Ayrshire Constabulary's World War casualties, Mr Alasdair Malcolm became aware of speculation that the original WW1 memorial might still be in situ, behind the partition wall at Charlotte Street. At his instigation, and with the permission of the Local Authority, in October 2020 a camera was inserted through the partition wall, to investigate whether this was so. Unfortunately, it was established that the chimney breast on which the memorial had hung is no longer present, having been removed during the late 1970s renovation of the Charlotte Street building. Whilst it is feasible that the intact memorial was safely relocated to an unknown site at that time, very thorough and extensive enquiries carried out by Alasdair Malcolm have uncovered no trace of its existence since. As the memorial has not been seen since the Charlotte Street renovations in the 1970s, the likelihood is therefore that it was destroyed during those works.
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference
  • The Scotsman 21/12/1921 reported on page 7 that: "AYR. - A memorial to fourteen men of Ayrshire Constabulary who fell in the war was unveiled yesterday afternoon at the headquarters in Ayr by the . Marquis of Ailsa, the Lord-Lieutenant of the County. There was a large company present at the ceremony, which included representatives of the County Council and other public bodies, and the Constabulary. The Marquis of Ailsa said that 60 members of the force went on service during the war. He mentioned that the . memorial had been designed by Colonel H . R , Wallace of Busbie, D.S.O.. the Convener of the County, and executed by Mr A. Carrick, A.R.S.A., Edinburgh. The memorial is Roman classical in outline, and the lettering, after the style of the Trojan column, is exquisitely done. The badge of the Ayrshire Constabulary is introduced into the scheme at the top, and the whole is in Carrara marble. The Rev. W. Cairns Duncan, minister, Ayr First Charge, performed the dedication." www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19211221/442/0007
  • warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/warmemscot-ftopic3124.html ("Among sculptor Alexander Carrick's business papers at the National Monument Record of Scotland Office in Edinburgh, Manuscript Collection 22, there is the copy of a letter from Carrick to the Chief Constable regarding his work on this memorial which he described as being Sicilian Marble").
  • War Memorials Trust ref WMO 260822 refers: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/260822/

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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