No Remembrance - 11.11.11

W.H. Auden's Epitaph for the Unknown Soldier: "To save your world you asked this man to die: Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?"

No Poppies.

Left Dedication : "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, Ye have done it unto me".

Centre Dedication : "Leith War Memorial. Dedicated in memory of the men of Leith who fell in The Great War 1914-1918".

Right Dedication : "Opened by the Right Honourable Sir John Gilmour M.P. Secretary of State for Scotland, 29th January 1927. (and) John A. Lindsay, Ex Provost of Leith, Chairman of Committee".

After World War I Leith didn't build a traditional war memorial.

They decided that the best way to remember was not with stone, but with action on a daily basis.

They built a hospital instead.

Very fitting indeed.

And here are the dedication marks to show that this is Leith's War Memorial for The Great War.

No poppies today. No Wreath. Nothing.

It's not even a hospital anymore but some years ago was closed down and converted into flats.

I don't think the original committee that arranged this memorial, the Secretary of State for Scotland, nor the bereaved families of those who gave their lives quite could have seen 91 years into the future to this.

Those who did give their lives were listed on a Roll of Honour.

I understand it is kept locked in a vault somewhere and is very rarely seen.

I doubt that's what was intended either.

(Google Maps link to where this is)