A disappointed Rutherglen woman has spoken out over her struggle to have South Lanarkshire Council mark the centenary of the town’s war memorial.
Rutherglen Cenotaph was unveiled on October 26, 1924 and local woman Dorothy Connor wanted to see if the local authority would officially mark the milestone but she was left disappointed.
The local historian and former journalist, contacted Council Leader Joe Fagan and Provost Margaret Cooper to ask if they could attend or arrange to send a representative to lay a floral wreath on the day, and even offered to provide the flowers, but says neither replied to the request.
She said: “The cenotaph was built by public subscription but such was the level of poverty in the Royal Burgh after WW1, that fundraising had to be suspended. When the cenotaph was eventually unveiled in 1924, as a focus for the townspeople’s mass grieving, the surrounding streets were thronged with people.
“There cannot have been a family whose lives were not affected by the loss or serious injury of a loved one.”
The Rutherglen Cenotaph Committee did have a banner made and placed at the memorial marking its 100 years.
Dorothy added: “It was only when I went to lay my own flowers that I found out that the community council had put up a banner at the cenotaph.
Dorothy has a strong family attachment to the memorial dating back to when it was unveiled. Her grandfather James Kelly, although too old to go to war, helped raise funds by touring with music hall acts – at times sharing the bill with Harry Lauder – and with Rutherglen Ladies FC, the football team he founded who were declared “world champions” in 1923 after defeating the leading English side of the time at Shawfield.
Dorothy continued: “My grandmother Ellen Kelly was chosen to lay a tribute there [cenotaph] in 1924 when mixed flowers were used, not poppies, due to her work with Lest We Forget, which helped ex-servicemen and their families.”
Dorothy’s other grandfather Valentine Connor, who died just weeks after she was born, had fought with the Irish Guards and was seriously wounded in action at the Somme and was left with a limp for the remainder of his life.
Dorothy added: “I felt it was very important to mark the date and as I was told that nothing official would be done, I placed an In Memoriam notice in the Rutherglen Reformer paying tribute to our own folk who served and suffered.
“I placed flowers on the cenotaph as I felt it was only fitting to walk in the footsteps of not only my granny, who lost a member of her own family in war, but to show my respect for all our own folk.
“It grieves me that 100 years on nations are still waging war on one another and that we have children here who are going to school without proper clothing or shoes in the winter, folk queueing up at foodbanks and unable to heat their homes and being told to huddle together in warm banks and going to clothing banks for basic items.
“What would our ancestors think of us and the proud legacy they left us?”
She added: “There is no more we can do for them [the war dead] except remember and respect them. We have to look after the living.”
Dorothy has also made a generous three-figure donation to charities including Rutherglen foodbank.
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council, said: “We are aware that a local resident laid a wreath at Rutherglen Cenotaph on October 26 to mark its centenary and are pleased that she was able to make this personal gesture.
“The council helps maintain all local cenotaphs and the aim is that local people can visit them any day of the year, especially if they want to pay their respects.
“Our main focus at this time of year is in preparation for Armistice Day on November 11 and Remembrance Sunday, and in particular on the ceremonies we help to hold across South Lanarkshire on those days.
“While the Remembrance Sunday event at Rutherglen Cenotaph is not hosted by the council, local councillors do attend and lay wreaths there and at the war memorial in Rutherglen Cemetery.”
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