Accuracy of our war memorials are of importance says Brown

MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane Keith Brown has recently expressed his support for a constituent who has been campaigning for almost a decade to have the misspelled name of her Great Uncle, a casualty of the First World War, corrected on Stirling’s cenotaph.  

The constituent’s great Uncle was Private Mark Boland – who died on April 4th, 1918. Unfortunately, the soldier’s name is listed incorrectly on Stirling’s cenotaph as Mark Bolland.  

It is understood that the constituent first contacted her local MP as early as October 2017, who then forwarded the complaint to Stirling Council – who have since confirmed the case was not transferred to a new caseworker in 2019, once the initial caseworker dealing with the case had left the local authority.  

In an email dated April 9th 2019, she was told “The price to change the name on the memorial is less than £200, as goodwill the council will cover this cost and progress with Planning Permission to change the spelling. Unfortunately, the process will likely take 2 to 3 months, but we will progress with this route of action.” However, said progress is yet to take place.  

This, among many other failings, has meant that the constituent has waited seven years since initially flagging this simple mistake to see action, which is yet to happen.  

Local MSP Keith Brown has taken up this case and is advocating on the constituent’s behalf for the name on the cenotaph to be amended. 

Commenting, SNP MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Keith Brown, said: 

“With a keen interest in military history myself, I understand the wealth of researchers, academics, enthusiasts and of course relatives that have an interest in maintaining our war memorials and ensuring their accuracy.” 

“This enthusiasm has not been matched by Stirling Council, who have taken at least seven years to make this very basic change.” 

“I know that there is a process for Local Authorities to follow here – but the fact that this has been ongoing since 2017 – over such a seemingly minor adjustment, is nothing short of ridiculous.” 

“My constituent feels, quite rightly, that Private Boland gave his life for his country and deserves to be remembered correctly.”

“I look forward to Stirling Council issuing a timetable that shows when we can expect this work to be completed.”