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quintinshill rail disaster
9
C . R . TRA I N REG I STER
MEMORIAL
Very soon after the crash it was decided to raise a Memorial, paid for by
public subscription,alongside the communal grave in Rosebank Cemetery.
The Memorial, unveiled by the Earl of Rosebery,Honorary Colonel of the
Battalion, on12May1916,takes the formof aCeltic cross,standing15ft 6ins,
madefromPeterheadgranitewithaninscriptionandanexplanatoryplaque
to the front and shields, bearing the Regimental Badge and Leith Burgh
Coat-of-Arms, one on each side.
On either side to the rear, against the Cemetery wall, are tablets
each with five bronze plaques. On these plaques are the names of 214
who died in, or immediately after the disaster, arranged by rank, and in
alphabetical order.These include the name of Sgt James Anderson, who
died in September 1917 having never recovered from his injuries, and was
added later. For some unknown reason the name of
Pte George Garrie
was
missed out on the plaques, although he appeared on all the lists, including
those of the plaques, published later. His name, together with that of
Pte William S Paterson,
who was also missed out, is to be added on a
separate plaque during the 2015 Commemoration, bringing the final
official total of 1/7RS killed in, or as a direct result of the crash, to 216.
Although funded by public subscription, the Memorial has been adopted
byThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission who maintain it, and the
grave area, superbly.
Every year, on the Saturday closest to
22 May, the Regimental Association,
supported by local organisations, hold
a Memorial service and wreath laying
at the Memorial. Additionally, in 2015,
under the leadership of The Leith
Trust, schoolchildren are planting
a
‘7th Battalion Copse’
of 216 trees,
one for each of those who died, within
the Woodland Trust’s Dreghorn Wood
World War I Centenary Project in the
Pentland Country Park. It is planned
that the copse will be high enough up
the hill to be seen from Leith.