Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
City Of Edinburgh
Town
Edinburgh
County
Lothian
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945)
Maker
Mr F E B Blanc (Designer)
Holmes and Jackson (Makers)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 13 April 1922
    Attended by: Lieutenant General Sir Francis Davies
  • Dedicated
    Date: 13 April 1922
    Attended by: Rev. Dr. A Wallace Williamson
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
87525

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Current location

Was on the sixth floor in 2009
the date of this original report which was not entered onto this database until 2020
National Museum of Scotland
Chamber Street
Edinburgh
City Of Edinburgh
Lothian
EH1 1JF
Scotland

OS Grid Ref: NT 25830 73300
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Previous locations
  • Castle Mills
    Edinburgh
    City Of Edinburgh
    Lothian
    Scotland

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Newbridge
    Edinburgh
    City Of Edinburgh
    Lothian
    Scotland

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
  • In storage
    Edinburgh
    City Of Edinburgh
    Lothian
    Scotland

    OS Grid Ref: Undefined
    Denomination: Undefined
  • Show More (2)
Description
Bronze Plaque in a marble frame. The marble frame appears to have been damaged in a major fire at the works in 1966 and no longer exists. There is a brass strip for the dedication, the main names memorial in 3 columns, and a separate brass strip below for the WW2 dedication.
Inscription
1914 IN MEMORIAM 1918/[names in 3 columns]/1939 AND OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE WORLD WAR 1945
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Air, G
Airnet, T A
Baty, E L
Beecham, J
Billard, A
Birrell, F
Bruce, S
Campbell, A
Campbell, E
Carleton, G
See details for all 106 names
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 106
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 106
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: surname, initials of forenames
    Order of information: surname (with a few exceptions)
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Plaques / Panels with names
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Bronze
  • Frame
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Marble
  • Plinth
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Granite
  • Plaque
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Brass
  • Second World War memorial
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Brass
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference
  • warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=4813&mforum=warmemscot
  • (from the company website in August 2009- this record was written in January 2020)- June 20 2008 We have to thank Stewart Segrott for updating us with regard to the War Memorial The original memorial plates were moved to Newbridge from Castle Mills around the early 1970's where they were placed on a Granite plinth just inside the factory gates .In 2000 when Continental handed over the Newbridge site to the developers we arranged for the plates to be removed from the plinth and they were stored in a retained warehouse in Broxburn for another two years. Stewart then arranged for them to be delivered to the The Scottish War Museum .Stuart Allan at the Museum has advised Stewart that the plates are still in storage at the Museum depot in Leith but they have been catalogued and photographed. It is still proposed that they will now feature in a 20th Century Industrial heritage room which is to be opened at the National Museum for Scotland in Chambers Street Edinburgh at the end of 2008.
  • Some detail of what was produced during the wars from this website: Great War The mills were running night and day. Flooded trenches called for special measures, and the Company was asked by the War Office to construct a suitable boot, very strong and of the finest material. Eventually they were turning out 2,750 pairs of boots a day, and produced a staggering total of 1,185,036 pairs. Apart from trench boots, the Company supplied for the Admiralty and War Office 70,000 pairs of boots and shoes; 248,326 pairs of gymnastic shoes; and close on 47,000 pairs of heavy snow boots for the French Army. Fabric used in making tyres for war purposed reached two million square yards; 863 miles of balloon cloth; immense quantities of hose for pumping out trenches, in connection with gas attacks. These, and many other items, were a tremendous part of the war effort, and a part of the Company’s history which will always command respect and admiration. Second World War During the 1939-1945 war, the North British Rubber Company again made an important specialized contribution. With the outbreak of war, 80% of their entire output consisted of war materials. The list is extensive. It included 7,000,000 gas maks, 10,000,000 air raid precaution sundries, 18,500,000 pairs of protective footwear, 1,000,000 rubber life belts, 8,000,000 yards of ground sheet, balloon and dinghy material, 7,500 miles of rubber tubing and 4,300 miles of hose. In the active field of battle, the Company introduced many important items: for warships, a rubber composition deck covering which was jointless and non-slip. With the invasion of Holland and warfare that followed D-day, the Forces assigned to the task of clearing Holland of the enemy had to deal with flooded conditions. There was an urgent and imperative call to the North British Rubber Company to provide large quantities of Wellington boots and thigh boots. Vast quantities of “Q” hoses were sent to the Far East, where the fighting was often amphibious. Bullet-proof tanks for aeroplanes created a very large demand for sponge rubber in sheet form, and thousands of yards were produced in Castle Mills. (from the company website in August 2009- this record was written in January 2020)
  • ‘The Scotsman’ - Friday, 14th April 1922, page 3 NORTH BRITISH RUBBER CO. (LTD.) A memorial to the employees and members of the staff of the North British Rubber Co. (Ltd.), Castle Mills, Edinburgh, who gave their lives in the war was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Davies yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was attended by a large representation of the firm's employees and their friends. The memorial, which, occupies a prominent position to the left of the main entrance gateway, takes the form of a bronze mural tablet in a marble setting, designed in Neo-Greek style by Mr F. E. B. Blanc, and carried out by Holmes & Jackson, sculptors, Glasgow. It perpetuates the memory of 106 employees. Mr Alexander Johnston, managing director, in the course of a few introductory remarks, said they had erected the memorial in order that they might not forget what they owed to those who had made the supreme sacrifice. At the beginning of the war over 440 of their fellow-workers had joined the colours. Later another 500 men joined. It was gratifying to remember that when the Derby scheme was introduced every man attested. General Davies, in unveiling the memorial, said they had done well to record the memory of those men and what they had done. He was glad the memorial had been placed at the entrance, where they would, see it every day as they passed in and out. He would ask them as they passed through the gate to give one thought to those men -their fellow-workers -and remember what they had done. Future generations would see the memorial, and it would be an inspiration to them to do their duty faithfully to their country. The Rev. Dr A. Wallace Williamson officiated at the dedicatory service. A platoon of the Castle Mills Cadet Battalion provided the guard and sentries, General Davies inspecting the boys prior to the ceremony. At the close a large number of wreaths were placed on the memorial.

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-87525

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