Dundee’s historic cenotaph precinct falls victim (again) to an errant driver

Dundee’s historic cenotaph outside the municipal building has again fallen victim to what appears to be an errant vehicle.

The fencing around the monument – that honours the fallen of both World Wars and all later conflicts – has been damaged for about the third time in recent years.

Residents living nearby reported hearing ‘something that sounded like a crash’ at around 10pm last night.

Last year the local Moths hosted a programme to mark the centenary of the unveiling of the cenotaph.

The Dundee, District and Mines cenotaph to commemorate those men (and one woman) who paid the supreme sacrifice was officially handed over on August 23, 1923.

“The Dundee Cenotaph owes its existence to the generosity of the citizens of Dundee, and the persistence of James Mackenzie, who was Mayor of Dundee from 1918 – 1920, 1928 – 1930 and again in 1941,” said Moths Old Bill, Pat Rundgren.

“It was erected by Messrs. Crankshaw in Newcastle. The statue is carved from white Italian Carrara marble, with a base of local sandstone. The cost of 1200 Pounds was raised by public subscription, which was a great deal of money at the time.

The Cenotaph was refurbished in 2008, made possible by the efforts of many Dundee citizens. Stuart Clarke, a former Dundee resident who now lives in California, was responsible for raising a large amount of the cash needed to do the job. Morgan Govender was the contractor while Tourism Dundee and Endumeni Municipality were also instrumental in making the project a success, particularly Peter Jones of the Dundee Diehards re-enactment group.

“In 2016 the Cenotaph was “upgraded” mainly through the efforts of Tourism Dundee  and Talana Museum (Pam McFadden). ”

Read more about the Dundee Cenotaph.

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