Memorial details

Memorial type
Obelisk
District
Moray
Town
Forres
County
Grampian
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
Crimean War (1853-1856)
Maker
Messrs M'Donald & Co. , Aberdeen prepared the blocks of granite for the die and shaft and transmitted to Forres (Mason)
Mr Urquhart - Elgin contractor (Builder)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: November 1857
    Attended by: Not found unveiling ceremony but it was completed on 31st October 1857 and many reports on it around second week of November.
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
69250

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Current location

In public gardens at Castle Hill
Bridge Street
Forres
Moray
Grampian
IV36 1QB
Scotland

OS Grid Ref: NJ 03405 58734
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
Tapering granite obelisk set on square plinth with commemorative plaque above a three-stepped stone base.
Inscription
TO THE MEMORY OF/ ASSISTANT-SURGEON JAMES THOMSON,/ BORN AT CROMARTY ON THE 8TH MARCH 1823/ AND DECEASED IN THE CRIMEA ON THE 5TH OCTOBER 1854./ HE SERVED WITH THE 44TH REGIMENT AT MALTA IN 1850 WHEN THE CHOLERA BROKE OUT AND SHORTLY/ PROVED FATAL TO ALL THE SURGEONS OF THE CORPS, HIMSELF ALONE EXCEPTED./ THE SKILL, FORTITUDE AND HUMANITY, DISPLAYED BY HIM IN ARRESTING THE PROGRESS/ OF THAT DISEASE, GAINED FOR HIM THE PRAISES OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF./ HE WAS PRESENT WITH THE SAME REGIMENT AT THE BATTLE OF THE ALMA IN 1854, AND/ A FEW DAYS AFTERWARDS, WHEN THE BRITISH WERE LEAVING THE FIELD, HE VOLUNTEERED/ TO REMAIN BEHIND WITH SEVEN HUNDRED DESPERATELY-WOUNDED RUSSIANS. ISOLATED/ FROM HIS COUNTRYMEN AND ENDANGERED BY THE VICINITY OF LARGE BODIES OF COSSACKS, ILL SUPPLIED WITH FOOD, AND EXPOSED TO THE RISK OF PESTILENCE, HE SUCCEEDED IN/ RESTORING TO HEALTH ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED OF THE ENEMY, AND EMBARKING THEM FOR/ ODESSA. HE THEN DIED FROM THE EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE HARDSHIP AND PRIVATION. / THIS PUBLIC MONUMENT IS ERECTED AS A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT FOR THE VIRTUES OF AN OFFICER WHOSE LIFE WAS USEFUL/ AND WHOSE DEATH WAS GLORIOUS.
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Thomson, James
See details
Commemorations
  • Crimean War (1853-1856)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Rank, regiment, forename, surname, place of birth, date of birth, date of death, place of death, manner of death.
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Obelisk
    Measurements: height c.15240mm
    Materials: Granite - Peterhead
  • Plaque
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Granite
  • Base
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
Condition
Costs

Comments: Sir James MacGrigor was a friend of James Thomson: he was instrumental in raising funds for the memorial and it was placed on land he owned at Castle Hill after permission to place it on the the original site at Cromarty was refused by the landowner. Inverness Courier - Thursday 28 January 1858 G. W. H. Ross of Cromarty House denied he refused to allow the obelisk in Cromarty. Three sites were offered. The sites wanted by Mr Macgrigor was surrounded by trees and so the obelisk would have been obscured after a few years.

Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Private
Details: Sir James MacGrigor, Director-General of the Army Medical Department.
Reference

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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© WMR-69250

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