The ''Commando Memorial'' is a

Category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

monument in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

, Scotland, dedicated to the men of the original British Commando Forces raised during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Situated around a mile from

Spean Bridge Spean Bridge ( gd, Drochaid an Aonachain) is a village in the parish of Kilmonivaig, in Lochaber in the Highland region of Scotland. The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between ...

, it overlooks the training areas of the Commando Training Depot established in 1942 at

Achnacarry Castle Achnacarry ( gd, Achadh na Cairidh) is a hamlet, private estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, and Loch Arkaig to the west. Ac ...

. Unveiled in 1952 by the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also u ...

, it is one of Scotland’s best-known monuments, both as a war memorial and as a tourist attraction offering views of

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for . Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian ...

and

Aonach Mòr Aonach Mòr is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. It is located about northeast of Ben Nevis on the south side of Glen Spean, near Fort William. The mountain has a summit elevation of and is classified as a Munro. The name Aonach Mòr (' ...

History

In 1949, the sculptor Scott Sutherland won a competition open to all Scottish sculptors for the commission, ''The Commando Memorial''. Sutherland's design won first prize of £200. The base of the bronze statue is inscribed with the date of 1951. The sculpture was cast in the H.H Martyn and Company's foundry. The memorial was officially unveiled by the Queen Mother on 27 September 1952. The monument was first designated as a

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

structure on 5 October 1971, and was upgraded to a Category A listing on 15 August 1996. On 18 November 1993 a further plaque was added to mark the Freedom of Lochaber being given to the Commando Association. On 27 March 2010 a war memorial path was opened connecting two local war memorials, the Commando Memorial, and the former High Bridge built by

General Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...

, where the first shots were fired in the

Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

in the

Highbridge Skirmish The Highbridge Skirmish was the first engagement of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 between government troops and Jacobites loyal to Prince Charles Edward Stuart. It took place at Highbridge, Lochaber, on the River Spean on 16 August 1745, and mar ...

Description

The monument consists of a cast

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

of three Commandos in characteristic dress complete with

cap comforter A capcomforter is a form of woollen military headgear originating in the British Army. It is a cylinder of knitted wool, similar to a short scarf, that is typically fitted over the head and fashioned into a hat. It can be worn comfortably underne ...

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and rifle, standing atop a stone plinth looking south towards

. The soldier at the front is thought to depict Commando Jack Lewington who frequently attended Remembrance Services at the monument during his lifetime. One of the other two soldiers is Frank Nicholls (rank unknown) the other is

Regimental Sergeant Major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australia ...

Sidney Hewlett. Originally serving with the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

, he was hand picked to be one of the founding NCOs of the commandos, and was also held in high regard and noted several times by

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. The entire monument is tall. The monument has been variously described as a huge, striking and iconic statue. "United we conquer" is inscribed around the top of the stone plinth, while the original plaque on the stone plinth reads: "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945. This country was their training ground."

Location

is a small village around northeast of Fort William in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

, and the memorial is located approximately northwest of Spean Bridge, at the junction of the A82 road and the B8004 road. It is a prominent landmark visible from the A82, and the site itself offers views across the

River Spean The River Spean flows from Loch Laggan in a westerly direction to join the River Lochy at Gairlochy in the Great Glen in the West Highlands of Scotland. Major tributaries of the Spean include the left-bank Abhainn Ghuilbinn and River Treig, th ...

valley to the peaks of

and

to the south. The location was chosen because it is on the route from

Spean Bridge railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Spean Bridge railway station - looking towards Roy Bridge.JPG , borough = Spean Bridge, Highland , country = Scotland , coordinates ...

to the former Commando Training Centre at nearby

. Arriving prospective Commandos would disembark after a 14-hour journey, load their kit bags onto waiting trucks and then speed-march the to the training centre in full kit with weapon, weighing a total of . Anyone not completing it within 60 minutes was immediately RTU'd (

returned to unit Returned To Unit or RTU refers to a military member being returned to their home base or home unit, either due to their being medically unfit, their requesting to be withdrawn from training, or their being unfit for training or otherwise disorderly. ...

Memorial

The monument stands as a memorial to the British Commandos who trained all around the

region which the monument overlooks, while they were based at the Achnacarry Commando Training Centre established in 1942. As such it is used as site for memorial services, including the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

ceremonies. A Garden of Remembrance, which was subsequently added to the site, is used by many surviving World War II Commandos as the designated final resting place for their ashes. It has also been used as a place where many families have scattered ashes and erected tributes to loved ones who belonged to contemporary Commando units and who have died in more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War or in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Sculptor

Scott Sutherland (15 May 1910 - 10 October 1984) was an award-winning Scottish sculptor born in

Wick, Highland Wick ( gd, Inbhir Ùige (IPA: �inivɪɾʲˈuːkʲə, sco, Week) is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of ...

and schooled at

Gray's School of Art Gray's School of Art is the Robert Gordon University's art school, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland and one of Scotland's five art schools today, and ranked among the Top 20 ...

, the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

and the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in Paris. After touring Europe and winning two out of the five open commissions offered for the Empire Exhibition, he served in the Army during World War II, working alongside commandos. After the war he took the post of Head of Sculpture at Duncan of Jordanstone' College in 1947. Sutherland was elected ARSA (Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy) in 1950 and FRBS (Fellow of the

Royal British Society of Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

) in 1961. In 1975 he retired, and died nine years later in hospital in Dundee.

Gallery

File:The Commando Memorial (12).jpg File:The Commando Memorial (10).jpg File:The Commando Memorial (7).jpg File:The Commando Memorial (3).jpg File:The commando memorial near Spean Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1491984.jpg File:Commando Memorial Spean Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1687249.jpg File:Rainbow Warriors (2) - Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 967265.jpg File:Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 377069.jpg

References

External links

In pictures: Commando gathering
29 April 2004
Take a Virtual Tour around The Commando Memorial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commando Memorial 1952 sculptures World War II memorials in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed monuments and memorials in Scotland Outdoor sculptures in Scotland Bronze sculptures in Scotland Statues in Scotland 1952 establishments in Scotland World War II memorials